Michael Armitage was born in Nairobi to a Kenyan mother and an English father. This personal cross-cultural identity is at the heart of his work and his paintings are infused with ancient myths and legends, depicted within a broader westernised context.

His work deals with themes of tension and cohesion across national borders; the compromises and negotiations each of us makes to fit into societies. His subjects, often inspired by centuries-old tribal stories, are rendered in textured paint and oversized shapes that present the viewer with a multi-dimensional experience.

‘I’d like a viewer to be drawn into the image first but at the same time to feel slightly uncomfortable with the proportions in the work,’ explains Armitage. ‘I want the materiality of the paint to be experienced so that it becomes almost like clay or mud.’

Armitage creates big, bold and lyrical paintings in the tradition of Chris Ofili or Raqib Shaw, but he also seeks to subvert the developing world’s attitude to the continent of Africa by underlining the sophistication and subtlety of ancient tribal symbols.

‘Immediately, when you talk about “Africa”, assumptions are made,’ says Armitage, who went to boarding school in England when he was 16. ‘There’s this idea that “African art” is primitive or naïve without any understanding of its relevance to the people who created it.’

There are always deeper layers of complexity lying beneath the surface of his paintings. Poliku, for instance, is inspired by the Dan tribe from the Ivory Coast and their belief that the Hornbill was the first animal to be created on earth. The Hornbill gave birth to a chick and they were companions for many years. When the mother died, the chick flew to the creator to ask for soil to bury her in, and thus the world was made.

Another major visual symbol is the Mugumo tree, of particular importance to the Kenyan Kikuyu tribe for performing sacrifices and initiations. Armitage depicts this tree growing to distorted proportions in his paintings. The tree’s dominance within the pictorial space is intended to convey its connected dominance in a spiritual sense too.

Armitage, 24, now splits his time between London and Nairobi, where he spends four or five months every year. Currently at the Royal Academy, Armitage graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art last year.

• Ascension - Four London Artists - October 2008 The House of St Barnabas, 1 Greek Street, Soho Square, London, W1