Ofili achieved fame in the 1990s for his large paintings making reference to West-African culture within a highly ornamental style marked by the inclusion of resin, glitter, and collage. He was awarded the Turner Prize in 1998 and represented Great Britain at the Venice Biennale in 2003. Ofili executed the present drawing when he was a student at the Chelsea School of Art in the late 1980s. The work reveals his interest in such artists as Egon Schiele and Jean-Michel Basquiat while already prefiguring the taste for decorative patterns that would characterize Ofili's mature paintings and drawings.
dated 4.11.89-5.11.89