I've Seen You Before (I've Seen You Before series), 2025

Ayo Rasaki

Ballpoint pen, ink, and acrylic on Archival paper

36 X 48 inches

We all carry an idea of who we wish to become. Although it may not
always appear in a clear form, we sense it through our passions, our
choices, and the subtle pull of things that feel meant for us. Often,
without knowing, we make decisions that guide us toward that
vision.

The piece speaks to that moment of recognition, when we come face
to face with our destiny, not as something new, but as something
deeply familiar. It is the awakening to a version of ourselves we have
glimpsed before, perhaps in a vision, a dream, a passing thought, or a
feeling that has followed us quietly through time.

While the present backs the viewer, the future self meets the viewer’s
gaze, a known stranger, both near and distant. This encounter is not
about discovery, but remembrance. It is the moment we realise that
who we are becoming has always been waiting, just within reach.