Sculpting Emotion With Salt: A Conversation With Multidisciplinary Artist Tobun Olubukola

By Iyojo Ameh

In a digital era saturated with conventional artistic mediums, multidisciplinary artist Tobun Olubukola has chosen an unlikely material to communicate emotion, symbolism, and human experience: salt.

Through a striking online solo exhibition featuring intricate salt-crafted artworks of wolves, zebras, birds, and emotionally layered animal portraits, Olubukola explores themes of survival, love, isolation, instinct, vulnerability, and transformation.

In this conversation, she discusses the inspiration behind the exhibition, the challenges of working with salt, and why impermanence remains central to her artistic philosophy.

Your recent online exhibition attracted attention because every piece was created entirely with salt. Why salt?

Tobun Olubukola:
Salt is ordinary, fragile, and universal at the same time. Everybody knows it and uses it, but very few people see it as a serious artistic material. That fascinated me.

I wanted to take something people overlook every day and transform it into something emotional and visually powerful. Salt also carries deep symbolism—preservation, healing, purification, survival, and even pain. Those meanings naturally became part of the work.

What attracted me most was its unpredictability. Salt does not behave like paint or charcoal. It shifts, breaks apart, reflects light differently, and demands patience. That tension became part of the artistic experience itself.

One of the most talked-about works was the wolf wearing a nose mask. What inspired that piece?

Tobun Olubukola:
The masked wolf represented survival during uncertain times, particularly the COVID-19 lockdown period.

Wolves are often associated with strength, instinct, danger, and freedom. By placing a mask on the wolf, I introduced vulnerability into that image. I was thinking about how even the strongest beings can experience fear, isolation, and the need to adapt.

The piece also reflects modern society—how people hide emotions, protect themselves, and navigate invisible threats. Masks can conceal identity, which added another layer of meaning.

The contrast between the wildness of the wolf and the fragility of salt made the work emotionally powerful for me. It remains one of my favourite pieces from the exhibition.

Animals appear repeatedly throughout the exhibition—wolves, zebras, and birds. Why are animals central to your visual language?

Tobun Olubukola:
Animals communicate honestly. Human beings often disguise emotions, but animals symbolize instinctive truths.

The zebra piece explored identity and contrast—light and dark, calmness and tension, individuality within patterns.

The love birds in the city reflected connection in chaotic environments. That piece was very personal because it spoke to how relationships survive despite external pressures. Even in crowded spaces, people still search for intimacy and belonging.

The two birds on a branch carried a quieter emotional tone. They were simply choosing one another. That artwork was about companionship, stillness, and peace. I wanted viewers to slow down and reflect while looking at it.

Each animal became a metaphor for different aspects of the human condition.

What was technically challenging about creating detailed works entirely from salt?

Tobun Olubukola:
Everything.

Salt is extremely delicate. A small movement can destroy hours of work. Lighting also affects texture, depth, and visibility, so I had to carefully consider presentation and photography.

Most of the pieces were created on the floor, and because the exhibition was presented online, documenting the work accurately became just as important as creating it.

There were moments when I had to restart pieces several times because the structure collapsed or the texture changed unexpectedly. But I embraced those imperfections. They reminded me that art does not always require absolute control to be meaningful.

Working with salt taught me patience and precision in an entirely new way.

Your exhibition existed online rather than in a traditional gallery. Was that intentional?

Tobun Olubukola:
Yes, absolutely.

I wanted accessibility. I liked the idea that people from anywhere in the world could experience the exhibition without physical limitations.

Digital presentation also created an interesting contrast—temporary handmade artworks preserved through technology. The artworks themselves are fragile, but the internet allows them to reach wider audiences and exist beyond their physical lifespan.

For me, the online platform became part of the exhibition concept itself.

What do you hope audiences take away from this body of work?

Tobun Olubukola:
I hope people rethink what art materials can be. Creativity is not limited to traditional tools.

I also hope viewers experience emotion before explanation. Whether it is loneliness, tenderness, resilience, reflection, or hope, I want the work to stay with them emotionally.

Most importantly, I want people to understand that meaningful art can emerge from unconventional processes and overlooked materials. In my view, art can be made from anything and can mean everything.

After this exhibition, where do you see your practice evolving?

Tobun Olubukola:
I want to continue pushing experimental, material-based art further.

I am interested in combining visual storytelling, symbolism, and digital presentation in more immersive ways. One of my goals is to create larger digital exhibition experiences that engage audiences on multiple levels.

This exhibition opened a broader conversation for me about fragility, value, and transformation. I believe there is still much more to explore.

As an artist, I never want to become too comfortable with repetition. I want every new body of work to challenge both myself and the audience in different ways. I want to keep evolving and creating work that leaves a lasting impact.

About the Artist

Tobun Olubukola is a multidisciplinary artist known for her experimentation with unconventional materials and symbolic visual storytelling. Her recent online solo exhibition explored emotional and social themes through intricately crafted salt artworks featuring animals, urban symbolism, and reflections on vulnerability, resilience, identity, and human connection.