SUPERMAN at PULLMAN YARDS ATL
EXHIBITION CLOSED MARCH 2026
superman
2026
fabric, thread, misc.
approx. 100 feet in length
In January 2026, Akinbola completed Superman at Pullman Yards in Atlanta, Georgia — his first project as the venue's inaugural artist in residence. The work consists of a hand-constructed durag exceeding one hundred feet in length, installed within Pullman Yards' expansive event space. A first-generation Nigerian-American, Akinbola works at the intersection of image, identity, and heritage, often incorporating found objects and materials. Superman posits the durag as a proud marker of cultural expression but also as a symbol regarded with ambivalence. "I think about the idea of making a do-rag, a black hairnet that is essentially a big cape blowing in the wind," Akinbola has said. "I want to imagine a kind of American superhero where the durag might be a cape that makes you powerful as opposed to vulnerable. Accessibility and depth have to be in balance. I want people to say 'hey, this is an artist who works with fabrics and he made the biggest durag in the world. That's fun.'"
Over the course of the residency, the warehouse was transformed into a working studio — complete with industrial sewing machines, videographers, and a production process built from the ground up by the artist. Akinbola designed, fabricated, and installed Superman entirely on site - what began as an open-ended residency concluded as a fully realized large-scale installation.
Pullman Yards is a 27-acre former industrial complex in the Kirkwood neighborhood of Atlanta. Built in 1904 as a chemical processing plant, the site was later acquired by the Pullman Company in 1926 to manufacture and repair railroad sleeper cars — and sat largely abandoned from the late 1970s until 2017, when it was purchased and redeveloped as a hub and venue for a dynamic range of artistic, cultural, and community oriented projects. Its vast, historically designated warehouse buildings now serve as event and exhibition spaces. In 2025, Pullman Yards launched a formal artist residency program — with Akinbola as its first resident.
SUPERMAN
at PULLMAN YARDS ATL
superman
2026
fabric, thread, misc.
approx. 100 feet in length
superman
2026
fabric, thread, misc.
approx. 100 feet in length
In January 2026, Akinbola completed Superman at Pullman Yards in Atlanta, Georgia — his first project as the venue's inaugural artist in residence. The work consists of a hand-constructed durag exceeding one hundred feet in length, installed within Pullman Yards' expansive event space. Superman posits the durag as an empowering cultural marker but also as an ambivalently received symbol. "I think about the idea of making a do-rag, a black hairnet that is essentially a big cape blowing in the wind," Akinbola has said. "I want to imagine a kind of American superhero where the durag might be a cape that makes you powerful as opposed to vulnerable. Accessibility and depth have to be in bala nce. I want people to say 'hey, this is an artist who works with fabrics and he made the biggest durag in the world. That's fun.'"
Over the course of the residency, the warehouse was transformed into a working studio — complete with industrial sewing machines, videographers, and a production process built from the ground up by the artist. Akinbola designed, fabricated, and installed Superman entirely on site - what began as an open-ended residency concluded as a fully realized large-scale installation.
Pullman Yards is a 27-acre former industrial complex in the Kirkwood neighborhood of Atlanta. Built in 1904 as a chemical processing plant, the site was later acquired by the Pullman Company in 1926 to manufacture and repair railroad sleeper cars — and sat largely abandoned from the late 1970s until 2017, when it was purchased and redeveloped as a hub and venue for a dynamic range of artistic, cultural, and community oriented projects. Its vast, historically designated warehouse buildings now serve as event and exhibition spaces. In 2025, Pullman Yards launched a formal artist residency program — with Aas its first resident.