Akinola is a London-based artist who uses images of the home and everyday materials to explore comfort and belonging. He creates sculptures, installations, sound and drawings. He studied at RA Schools, graduating in 2023.

As a British-born Nigerian who has spent time in and now feels comfortable in both countries, Akinola’s work exposes the nuanced differences between the two places. During the residency his research will explore nostalgia, post-colonial power dynamics and the psychology of ownership. Akinola is interested in attitudes born from colonisation that linger in the present. By observing subtle slips in culture, he intends to come to a new understanding around the ownership of space.

ABOUT THE RESIDENCY

The South London Gallery Postgraduate Residency is an open submission six-month residency that provides an early-career artist with a rare opportunity to produce a new body of work, which is then exhibited at the SLG. The residency is open to artists who have completed a BA, and have undertaken a period of self-directed, peer-led or postgraduate study in the year prior to the residency. This can include alternative, peer organised and non-accredited programmes from an institution, collective or art school in the UK as well as an MA, MFA, PGDip, MRes.  

The residency includes a studio space, a £5,000 artists fee, a housing bursary to cover accommodation in London, a budget to produce new work, mentoring, and a solo exhibition in one of the SLG Fire Station galleries. 

The Postgraduate Residency is supported by the Paul and Louise Cooke Endowment. The exhibition will tour to Bonington Gallery in January 2025.