Toyin Ojih Odutola Toyin Ojih Odutola
(b. Ife, Nigeria 1985)
Lives and works in New York, NY
Untitled, 2013, pen, ink and marker on paper
Collection of Dr. Robert B. Feldman
Of course they’re black figures because they’re drawn in black pen, but not all of the figures are of African American descent, or at least the reference isn’t. One of the things I like to play with is, ‘What is black?’ Is it because I drew it? Is it because it looks black? Is it because you think the figure is black? Because a lot of it is just a filter, and the filters get more and more obstructed by whatever people think the image is about and not really what it is. —Toyin Ojih Odutola
Toyin Ojih Odutola contemplates themes of representation and authenticity in her rhythmic drawings to confront social and politicized ideas about race. Her portraits call into question the validity and classification of people in America by skin color. Through her practice, Odutola fabricates an innovative idea of blackness bestowing how it is read and felt onto characters of other backgrounds. The golden hair further confuses traditional indicators of ethnicity.
Toyin Ojih Odutola Toyin Ojih Odutola
(b. Ife, Nigeria 1985)
Lives and works in New York, NY
Untitled (1/14), 2016, etching and relief on Reeves BFK
Collection of Dr. Robert B. Feldman
This piece was created by Toyin Ojih Odutola at Flying Horse Editions, at the University of Central Florida, where artists are able to research and work with master printmakers to push the boundaries of their work using unique and labor-intensive printmaking methods. Here Odutola etches, instead of drawing in pen, the contours of her subject’s face and neck, marking single lines and cross hatches for shading and employing the relief side to transfer the ink to paper. The method merges historic and contemporary as does her subject matter. The portrait carries a weight of importance of this man that the individual is made visible and beautiful through the artist’s process of depicting a person of color to live on through art history.
Toyin Ojih Odutola Toyin Ojih Odutola
(b. Ife, Nigeria 1985)
Lives and works in New York, NY
Ishmael, 2011, pen, ink and marker on paper
Collection of Dr. Robert B. Feldman
Working in ballpoint pen on paper, Toyin Ojih Odutola meticulously traces the contours of an individual’s face and body, creating highlights and shades, building layers upon layers of markings to capture the terrain-like, flowing texture of black and brown skin. The artist pulls inspiration from making sense of her own life, after immigrating to America from Nigeria, to understand how or why she and others are defined prejudicially by their skin color. For Odutola, these stratigraphic layers recall personal histories for her characters and depict the threads that merge and combine to shape an image of someone, a singular but multifaceted personality. In her treatment of Ishmael’s skin, Odutola plays with the highlighting in purples, yellows, pinks, blues, and beige, emphasizing the many dimensions of this person, beyond what can be seen superficially, and beyond her signature aesthetic, Ishmael’s gaze meets the viewers directly to explore these notions.