Durags are stretchable fabrics worn over the head to shape and protect the hair; in Akinbola\u2019s practice, they are both culturally loaded objects and a material he can reconfigure. For this solo show, Akinbola assembles durags into compositions that are drawn from the structure of classical floral still-life paintings. Translating this genre into fabric allows the image to form through construction; petals emerge through stitching, density, and layering. The flower is not painted; it is built.<\/p>\n
Alongside the floral arrangements, Akinbola works through another motif: bricks. Says the gallery: “The brick pattern … introduces a different register: a wall, a structure, a longing. It gestures toward the search for something that lasts, and toward the idea of home as legacy … The title Get Well Soon operates as both a cue and a condition, an everyday phrase that carries hope and uncertainty at once”.<\/p>\n
The exhibition also includes two installations that mark real time \u2013 a bouquet of helium balloons that deflate slowly over the course of the exhibition, and a diffuser that releases a fragrance created by Akinbola to fill the space temporarily and then dissipate.<\/p>\n
To 24 May.<\/p>\n
Above:\u00a0Anthony Olubunmi Akinbola, Arrangements #001 (Montgomery) (2026)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"