Reinventing Sound Art Experience with Akingbola

Yinka Olatunbosun

Nigeria-based multidisciplinary artist, Oluwayemisi Abejide Akingbola, opened the doors of her creative world to the public in a special two-day event titled “Open Hues: A Sound X Art Experience”, held from November 28–29, 2025, at her Hues of Comely Studio at Magboro, Ogun State. It was an intimate, sensory-driven encounter that invited visitors not only to view her works, but to listen, feel, and question the deeper meanings behind them.

Akingbola, a visual artist, sound artist, fabric-print designer and sculptor, is known for weaving her culturally rooted stories through different mediums. Yet, inside her studio, her art takes a more personal, exploratory turn. Visitors arriving at the space are greeted by neatly lined plants climbing the staircase, like gentle guides into Akingbola’s world. Inside the studio, her paintings- a clutter of creativity- sit boldly on the walls while her drawing table stands like an altar of ideas, and a dimly lit, tunnel-like corridor invites guests to step into a private moment of reflection.

In that narrow path, each visitor puts on headphones to listen to her self-composed 8D sound piece, created in a language she built for herself. She calls it an idioglossia—a private language formed from existing sounds but bearing new meaning.

“Basically, you come in, wear the headset, and listen,” she explains. “I created my own language because my work has its own visual language. I want cohesion—meaning in the patterns, meaning in the sound. The whole meaning of the song is “I create peace.”

For Akingbola, a graduate from OAU Ilé-Ifè, drawing and painting are not enough. She believes much of the emotional essence behind an artwork is often lost, especially those silent thoughts that sit inside an artist’s mind.

“You see me painting, but you don’t know what’s in my head,” she says. “I’m trying to create a bridge between what we see and what we do not see. That’s where the sound comes in.”

Her open studio is therefore designed to provoke curiosity in every visitor. The installation, titled “What Are You Curious About?”, is inspired by childhood memories of those tiny, almost forgettable moments that later return as powerful recollections.

“Curiosity leads to questions, questions lead to answers,” she says. “At the end of the tunnel, what will you find? How will it change your perspective?”

One striking part of the show is her pathway lined with sculptures made from discarded styrofoam. She uses the material to pose questions about purpose, transition and reinvention.

“When styrofoam has protected an object, what happens next?” she asks. “Do we discard it or give it a new life? For me, that’s an allegory of relationships and phases of life. What happens when our role ends? Do our memories get discarded, or do they shape who we are?”

Akingbola refuses to be restricted to one form of expression. With a background in broadcast journalism spanning 13 years—presenting, producing and directing—she says every part of her past now strengthens her art.

“I refuse to be put in a box,” she says. “I started painting for fun, but during COVID-19 I began taking art seriously. Even now, my experience as a voiceover artist and producer supports what I do.”
She describes herself as an abstract and sound artist who draws heavily from African culture and uses 8D sound, audio that can be manipulated from left to right to deepen the stories she tells.

From exhibitions in the UK to multiple residencies, Akingbola continues to explore new materials and ideas. But at the heart of her practice is a simple desire: to make people think, question and reconnect with forgotten parts of themselves.

Her two-day open studio succeeded in doing just that, turning a quiet creative space into a corridor of self-discovery, memory, and sound. In the end, Akingbola leaves each visitor with one question echoing in their mind: What are you curious about?