Toyin Ojih Odutola

Toyin Ojih Odutola (born 1985) is a Nigerian-American contemporary visual artist known for her vivid multimedia drawings and works on paper.[1] Her unique style of complex mark-making and lavish compositions rethink the category and traditions of portraiture and storytelling. Ojih Odutola's artwork often investigates a variety of themes from socio-economic inequality, the legacy of colonialism, queer and gender theory, notions of blackness as a visual and social symbol, as well as experiences of migration and dislocation. Quotes I don't think about race before I start drawing. I think about how to make that mark to fit whatever purpose I need it to fulfill. Being a black artist, the first thing people want to talk about is your blackness, the importance of your blackness, and your black presence. Toyin Ojih Odutola's quotes Being a black artist, the first thing people want to talk about is your blackness, the importance of your blackness, and your black presence. Toyin Ojih Odutola's quotes The graphic style itself is influenced by a lot of very layered and detailed comics that I read as a kid, like 'Vagabond' by Takehiko Inoue. Toyin Ojih Odutola's quotes For a while, I was nervous about portraying women because of the objectification that automatically comes with it, whether the artist intends or not. Toyin Ojih Odutola's quotes I'm really interested in independent publishers and memes and mini comics. But even before that, I was interested in Japanese manga and anime. Toyin Ojih Odutola's quotes I moved around a lot when I was a child; two of the houses I grew up in have totally disappeared. One was burnt in a riot, and the other was pulled down. Toyin Ojih Odutola's quotes I kept wanting to push my image as validity; I wanted to see my portrait on a wall and know it was okay. Toyin Ojih Odutola's quotes The social media bit is really about documenting process. I like the dialogue if it's constructive, but I'm now at a crossroads. I've accumulated a lot of followers, and it's great, but I'm also at that teetering point where people are feeling themselves a little too much, commenting a little too much. Toyin Ojih Odutola's quotes My identity is not based on performance; it's based on something that's pre-determined by someone else, and I don't even understand what that is because I'm an African who came to America. Toyin Ojih Odutola's quotes When I was in school, I conceptually didn't want black people to have context, to take it out of all that history. I wanted nothing to indicate where they are or what time it is, to place them anywhere. Toyin Ojih Odutola's quotes I don't think about race before I start drawing. I think about how to make that mark to fit whatever purpose I need it to fulfill. Toyin Ojih Odutola's quotes External Links Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:Artists from the United States Category:Women from Nigeria Category:Women born in the 1980s Category:Women from the United States