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By Damiete Braide
In the ever-evolving landscape of Nigeria’s film and television industry, art direction is fast emerging as a critical force in storytelling. One of the creatives at the forefront of this transformation is Labran Mayowa, an actor, production designer and art director whose growing body of work continues to influence the visual language of modern Nigerian productions.
With credits spanning notable projects such as ‘Mystic River’, ‘Conversations in Transit’ and ‘Alakada’, Mayowa has steadily carved a niche for herself as a detail-driven storyteller. However, her role as Consulting Art Director on the award-winning telenovela, ‘Wura’, has become a defining landmark.
‘Wura’, executive produced by Rogers Ofime and series produced by Preye Odibo, is showmax’s first Nigerian original series. The telenovela, a local adaptation of the South African hit telenovela, ‘The River’, centres on the complex and ruthless Wura Amoo-Adeleke, a gold mining executive in Osun State. Since its 2023 premiere, the series has enjoyed critical acclaim and strong viewership, later moving to Africa Magic for its fourth season, further cementing its place as one of Nigeria’s most successful long-running TV dramas.
At the heart of Mayowa’s work on ‘Wura’ lies a compelling visual philosophy, “wealth as a mask.”
She explained that every set was deliberately crafted to appear luxurious yet emotionally distant.
“I wanted each space to feel desirable but cold,” she said.
“Like somewhere you would love to live in, but also feel that something is wrong.”
To bring this concept to life, she combined warm, rich materials with sharp lighting and slightly oversized furniture, creating an atmosphere that feels imposing rather than comforting. In her words, “the space doesn’t hug you; it judges you.”
Beyond ‘Wura’, Mayowa points to ‘Mystic River’ as the most rewarding challenge of her career. Shot largely within a forest environment, the project required her to transform natural surroundings into believable living spaces despite limited resources.
Rather than amplify the story’s heavy themes of grief, suspicion and quiet rage through overly dark visuals, she chose a subtler approach.
“The temptation was to make everything dark,” she explained.
“But I learned that true tension lives in what you don’t show.”
She designed warm kitchens, tidy living rooms and ordinary streets, spaces that felt normal on the surface but became unsettling when characters with hidden secrets entered them. The experience reshaped his philosophy.
“Less isn’t just more, sometimes less is everything,” she noted.
Her creative process begins with character. According to her, the first thing she looks for in a script is a scene inside a character’s home.
“How do they live when no one is watching?” she asked.
“That tells me their relationship with comfort, control and truth. Everything else flows from there.”
From there, she builds a mood board using four key anchors, colour, texture, lighting quality and emotional tone, drawing inspiration strictly from real-life photographs rather than other films. She limits her presentation to about 15 images, insisting that clarity of vision must come early.
Balancing beauty with practicality is another key aspect of her work. Mayowa physically walks through camera paths and actor positions to ensure that her designs do not hinder movement or performance.
“If a lens hits a wall or an actor can’t sit naturally, the design has failed,” she said, adding that she has come to appreciate negative space, describing emptiness as “intentional, not a lack.”
When it comes to props, her approach is equally disciplined.
“Every prop must have a job—reveal character, advance the plot, or create mood,” she explained.
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“If it doesn’t, it goes. Then I remove one more.”
Over time, his design philosophy has evolved significantly.
“I used to think more detail meant more realism. Now I know what you leave out can be just as powerful,” she said.
“I used to decorate. Now I edit.”
Despite his growing recognition, Mayowa does not believe in imposing a signature style across projects.
“I see myself as a chameleon,” she said.
“If a director hires me for ‘my style’, I’ve failed. The goal is for the work to look exactly like the film in their head.”
She also incorporates cost-effective and sustainable practices into her work, renting materials where possible, building reusable sets and maintaining a warehouse of props and structural elements. She constantly questions whether something needs to be built or sourced instead.
Among those who have influenced her are international art director Stuart Craig, known for his work on the Harry Potter films, and Nigerian creative Pat Nebo, whom she credits for demonstrating that local stories deserve world-class craftsmanship.
In an era where computer-generated imagery is increasingly prevalent, Mayowa remains a strong advocate for practical sets.
“If an actor touches it, breathes on it, or leans on it, build it,” she said, adding that actors perform better in real spaces.
Maintaining creative energy on demanding projects, she admits, requires simple but intentional habits—protecting one small creative detail for personal satisfaction and, as she humorously adds, “Making sure I eat. Hunger is not a badge of honour.”
As a team leader, she emphasises communication and shared understanding, organising daily briefings and ensuring every crew member understands the story behind their task.
“When a painter knows why a wall is sad, they paint differently,” she said.
Her ability to adapt was tested when a production lost 40 per cent of its building budget just days into set construction. She responded by redesigning multiple sets into a single versatile space and using lighting creatively to mask lower-cost materials, without compromising the final output.
In another instance, faced with a last-minute lighting change that flattened a set’s visual texture, she improvised by applying diluted coffee to the walls to recreate depth, an innovation that went unnoticed but proved effective.
When creative disagreements arise, her strategy is pragmatic.
“I build the director’s version first,” she said. “Most times, they see the issue themselves. And if not, we return to one question: what does the story need?”
Beyond creativity, she prioritises people, ensuring his team is well-fed, respected and appreciated, especially during long shoots.
“Culture is not what you say,” she noted. “It is how you treat people at 2am.”
In aligning artistic goals with financial realities, Mayowa focuses on what he calls the project’s most important image, the defining visual that sells the story, while applying cost-saving measures elsewhere.
Ultimately, she believes art direction is often misunderstood.
“People think we are just decorators,” she said.
“But we are storytellers working in three dimensions. A good art director makes you feel something before anyone speaks.”
With talents like Labran Mayowa leading the charge, productions like ‘Wura’ are not only raising the bar for Nigerian television, they are redefining how African stories are seen, felt and experienced on the global stage.
