In the evolving landscape of contemporary art, few voices are as distinct, intentional, and spiritually resonant as evan ifekoya. Their work stands at the intersection of sound, ritual, identity, community, and healing. Operating across installation, performance, moving image, and especially sonic experimentation, Ifekoya creates environments that invite audiences into deeper forms of listening—listening not only with the ears, but with the body, memory, and intuition. Their practice transcends traditional art boundaries and introduces a radical rethinking of how we experience presence, belonging, and collective energy.
Born in Nigeria and based in London, Ifekoya has emerged as a leading figure in conversations surrounding Blackness, queerness, spirituality, and embodied knowledge. Their art is less about spectacle and more about resonance. It asks: How do we care for each other? How do we remain whole in systems designed to fragment us? How can sound itself become a sanctuary?
Early Life and Identity Formation
Understanding Ifekoya’s work requires acknowledging the layered identities they embody. Born in 1988, their lived experiences weave into their art, not as mere autobiographical references, but as active frameworks. Growing up across multiple cultural and social contexts informed their awareness of how identity is shaped and reshaped by space, community, and history.
The experience of being a Black, queer, gender-expansive individual in the UK provided both challenges and sites of resistance. Instead of responding with confrontation, Ifekoya’s practice channels these experiences into healing modalities. Their work proposes that identity is not fixed but fluid, communal, and deeply connected to lineage—not only biological lineage, but ancestral memory, cultural rhythm, and spiritual inheritance.
This approach challenges Western ideas of identity as something individualistic and self-contained. Instead, Ifekoya presents identity as something lived collectively, influenced by the seen and the unseen, the audible and the felt.
Artistic Philosophy: Sound as a Portal
Central to Evan Ifekoya’s practice is sound—not simply as music or noise, but as vibration, frequency, and energetic presence. Their work suggests that sound has the capacity to shift awareness, regulate emotional states, and open pathways toward collective healing. Listening becomes a form of meditation, connectivity, and grounding.
In installations, sound is often paired with architectures or sculptural elements. The intention is not to create objects for passive viewing, but environments where the audience’s physical presence completes the work. The visitor becomes both witness and participant. Sound waves move through the space, through the body, and through memory. The experience is somatic rather than purely intellectual.
This approach echoes spiritual traditions, particularly those found in West African cosmologies and diasporic rituals, where sound—drumming, chanting, vibration—has always served as a conduit between worlds. In Ifekoya’s work, sound reclaims its ancient role as a bridge between the everyday and the transcendent.
Themes in Their Work
Ifekoya’s thematic concerns are rich and multi-layered, consistently returning to several interwoven ideas:
1. Blackness in Abundance
Rather than presenting Black identity through narratives of struggle alone, Ifekoya emphasises joy, pleasure, heritage, and spiritual freedom. Blackness is portrayed as abundant, generative, and cosmically connected.
2. Queer Community and Collective Survival
Their work recognises the importance of chosen family and shared resource networks, particularly for queer and trans people of colour. Creative collaboration becomes a method of survival.
3. Spiritual Ecologies and Ancestral Presence
Ifekoya draws from diasporic and indigenous cosmologies where the boundaries between the physical and metaphysical are porous. Ancestors remain present, not as abstractions, but as active guides.
4. Listening as Care
Listening in Ifekoya’s framework is not passive reception, but a relational act—listening to others, to space, to body signals, to the earth itself.
Major Projects and Contributions
One of the most significant aspects of Ifekoya’s career is their role in founding Black Obsidian Sound System, known widely as B.O.S.S., a collective created by and for Black and queer individuals. The collective builds sound system culture into spaces of joy, resistance, care, and community celebration. Through shared ownership and collaborative practice, B.O.S.S. challenges the hierarchies and exclusions typically embedded in cultural infrastructure.
This collective is not only artistic; it is political and communal, creating safe and affirming sonic environments in nightlife, gallery, and social spaces. It represents Ifekoya’s belief that art should not only be viewed—it should be lived, shared, and transformative.
In their solo practice, large-scale sound installations have been exhibited across international institutions. These works often use resonant frequencies associated with healing. For example, frequencies like 528 Hz — often referred to as the “love” or “DNA repair” frequency — appear in some of their sonic compositions, inviting visitors into emotional openness and bodily rest.
Teaching and Mentorship
Beyond their studio practice, Ifekoya plays a significant role in arts education. They approach teaching as a mutual exchange rather than a hierarchical transmission of knowledge. Their presence within academic contexts supports emerging artists in understanding their own identities as sources of power, not obstacles.
This aspect of their work demonstrates a dedication to sustaining future generations of artists, particularly those whose voices have historically been marginalised.
Cultural Significance
Evan Ifekoya stands as an essential figure in contemporary art not because of shock value or aesthetic novelty, but because their work returns art to its most ancient function: to heal, to connect, to remember, and to transform.
Their contributions stretch beyond the gallery environment into sound culture, community organising, and pedagogical practice. They create spaces where people feel seen, held, and reconnected with their own inner knowing.
In a global culture marked by anxiety, disconnection, and rapid overstimulation, Ifekoya’s work slows us down. It reminds us of the wisdom carried in breath, vibration, memory, and silence.
Conclusion
Evan Ifekoya is a visionary artist whose work reshapes our understanding of listening, identity, and care. Through sound environments, collective practice, and spiritually grounded artistic exploration, they encourage us to reconnect with our bodies, our communities, and our ancestral lineages. Their art is not merely to be looked at—it is to be felt, absorbed, and lived. In a world that often fragments, Ifekoya’s work gathers. In a world that often overwhelms, their work brings us back to centre.
