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By Damiete Braide
UK-based Nigerian fine art photographer, Olusola Akinpelu, has reaffirmed his commitment to giving back to his roots by transforming photography from a misunderstood course of study into an attractive and viable creative enterprise for young Nigerians.
Through a solo exhibition and an intensive workshop at Yaba College of Technology, (Yabatech) recently, Akinpelu exposed students to the artistic depth and entrepreneurial possibilities embedded in visual storytelling.
Hosted by the School of Arts, Design and Printing, the workshop brought together about 55 photography students at the Yusuf Grillo Auditorium. The event followed his solo exhibition titled A Place Where Time Softens, previously showcased at the George Oshodi Centre for Photography before making its way to the Graphic Department of Yabatech.
The exhibition featured 40 evocative images produced between 2020 and 2025. The collection traversed emotional and physical landscapes where light becomes mood, colour transforms into memory, and everyday scenes reveal unexpected elegance. Works such as Day and Night Talk, Waiting Room, Walk Alone; Journey Home, Commonwealth Cemetery, Essex, Home, Talk with Mother Earth, All Seasons, Hope, Tables’ Turn, Lifetime Canvas, and Two Roads; Path Less Travelled reflected a deep meditation on time as a living, breathing presence.
Central to the exhibition was Day and Night Talk, an intergenerational composition capturing an aged woman in quiet exchange with a young girl.
The piece explored the fluid boundary between youth and old age, suggesting that beginnings and endings are less distinct than they seem. Through subtle colour palettes and gentle mark-making, Akinpelu created a visual meeting ground where generations converse without words, symbolising the cyclical rhythm of life.
For Akinpelu, time is not rigid or linear. Rather, it stretches, overlaps and dissolves softly at the edges. Drawing inspiration from nature’s quiet continuity, the patience of trees, the instinctive flight of birds and the slow drift of clouds, his work invites viewers to step outside mechanical clock time into a more generous, reflective rhythm. Growth, rest, change and renewal, he suggests, are all threads in the same tapestry.
A graduate of English Literature from Olabisi Onabanjo University in Ogun State, Akinpelu brings over 22 years of professional experience spanning fine art, street style, landscape, portrait and abstract photography. Each genre, he explained, offers him a different language through which to interpret identity, space and story. His approach, rooted in curiosity and respect for detail, seeks not merely to document but to evoke emotion and provoke introspection.
Beyond aesthetics, however, his engagement at Yabatech was deeply practical. Many of the students, according to the Dean of the School of Arts, Design and Printing, Chinyere Ndubuisi, did not initially choose photography as their preferred course of study. Some had hoped to study Mass Communication but were admitted into photography as a related discipline. As a result, uncertainty about career prospects lingered among them.
The workshop, therefore, served as an eye-opener. Akinpelu challenged the students to understand themselves first before seeking to communicate with an audience. Passion, he emphasised, must be anchored in self-awareness. Without clarity of identity, he noted, creative output lacks authenticity and direction.
He also demystified professional photography by stressing that sophisticated equipment is not the sole determinant of quality work. In a generation dominated by smartphones and social media, Akinpelu urged participants to reimagine their phones as serious creative tools rather than mere platforms for Instagram or Facebook updates.
By mastering camera settings and understanding composition, lighting and perspective, students could begin to tell meaningful stories using devices already in their hands.
His message resonated strongly with participants who gained exposure not only to artistic techniques but also to entrepreneurship in visual media.
He discussed branding, storytelling, adaptability and the need to see photography as both art and enterprise. In doing so, he reframed photography from a fallback option to a dynamic profession capable of generating income and preserving culture.
Dean Ndubuisi described the collaboration as part of Yabatech’s “town and gown” initiative, which fosters partnerships between academia and industry practitioners. She praised the Rector’s support for such engagements, noting that practical exposure complements classroom instruction and broadens students’ understanding of life beyond the curriculum.
According to her, while lecturers diligently cover academic content, workshops like Akinpelu’s provide insights into industry realities, client management, creative independence and career sustainability, that are not always captured in textbooks. The transformation in students’ outlook during the session, she observed, was evident.
As a cultural custodian, Akinpelu sees photography as a bridge between generations. His work preserves both the wisdom of elders and the vibrancy of youth as a continuous narrative rather than fragmented snapshots. By documenting people and architectural spaces that shape collective memory, he extends photography beyond image-making into heritage preservation.
Ultimately, A Place Where Time Softens was more than an exhibition; it was a philosophy in motion. It encouraged viewers to slow down, observe deeply and recognise that time is felt, not merely counted. At Yabatech, that philosophy translated into mentorship, softening not just time, but doubts, fears and limited perceptions.
Through art, dialogue and practical guidance, Sola Akinpelu demonstrated that photography is not an accidental discipline but a powerful creative enterprise, one capable of shaping identity, building careers and connecting generations across borders.
