Ayobola “Zak” Kekere-Ekun was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, and currently lives in South Africa. She earned her B.A. and M.A. in Visual Arts with a focus in Graphic Design from the Department of Creative Arts at the University of Lagos, before completing a PhD in Art and Design at the University of Johannesburg.
Zak exists as her alter ego - an extension of Ayobola that centres her working processes on fabric rather than paper. As a visual artist, she investigates materiality through form, structure, colour, and light. Each piece begins as a pliable surface that evolves through folding, compression, and expansion. The resulting forms are often perceived as sculptural topographies; even though not intentional, they become the reality of the object, evoking landscapes of imagined environments.
The folds act as a visual archive of decision-making, a trace of tension and release, and a negotiation with gravity. This ritualistic repetition embodies both humility and curiosity, allowing the artist to submit to the material’s agency while co-creating a dialogue with it — each piece is simultaneously witness, participant, and record keeper — a material experience.
Known internationally for her “quilling” techniques involving paper, she pivots away from this practice and evolves to fabric. Taking on the intersections of memory, materiality, and perception.
Ayobola has exhibited internationally at galleries and art fairs, including HOFA, London; JACAA, Yokohama; Art021, Shanghai; UTA Artist Space, Los Angeles; Arte Fiera, Bologna; and ABSA Gallery, Johannesburg. She is a recipient of the ABSA L’Atelier Award (2021) and the Future Awards Prize for Creativity (2018) and Art (2025).