Afrika (Sergei Bugaev) was born in 1966 in Novorossiisk. He left home at the age of fourteen to join a rock band, and throughout the 1980s worked with Leningrad rock groups such as Aquarium, Kino, and Pop-mechanics. He became a cultural icon and an important figure in Leningrad’s bohemian circles. In 1986 he starred in Assa, one of the most radical films of the Perestroika period. During John Cage’s visit to Leningrad in 1988, Afrika met the famous American composer and thereafter collaborated with him on several projects. In the same year he received an offer to design the scenery for a performance of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in New York in 1990.
Since that time Afrika has actively participated in international programs, and his installations and paintings have been displayed at many major exhibition centers throughout the world. Afrika continues the traditions of Russian Futurism and Constructivism, and more recently has begun to incorporate cutting-edge computer technology into his installations. He lives and works in St. Petersburg.