Afi Nayo was born in Lomé but moved to Paris with her family at an early age, where she currently lives and works. Her intensely intimate work unfolds in a fragile synthesis of humility and sensitivity. She combines the pyrogravure technique (a traditional practice of engraving wood using a heated tool) with mixed media on wooden board to depict fantastical scenes which intelligently articulate dream motifs and satirical references. The sensual surfaces yield to dense conglomerations of images that demonstrate a playful openness to art historical influences. Often Nayo draws upon the enigmatic signs and symbols of the unconscious to create a poetic amalgam of abstraction and figuration.

Nayo has participated in numerous exhibitions in Africa and Europe, including the Centre Culturel Français in Lomé, Togo; Galerie Vivienne in Paris; and Galerie Nathalie Duchayne in Saint Tropez, France. Her work has also been acquired by several public and private collections.