After relocating from Nigeria to America at five, Ojih Odutola connected with her the complexity of her complexion and began questioning her identity. During her transition, she used art as a coping mechanism, and over time it has transformed into an “investigative, learning activity” for her.
Speaking with Vogue about how art helped her escape, Odutola said:
“I was obsessed, capturing everything I saw and being fascinated with the incredibly simple task of looking at something and transmitting it onto paper. It’s an immediate magic.”
Toyin Ojih Odutola
Considering her achievements and how pensive her arts have turned out to become, Toyin has become the third highest selling Nigerian Artist of all time; Yesterday at the Sotheby’s, Toyin sold one of her fantastic drawings, titled ‘Compound Leaf’, for £471,000 (roughly N215 million), this evidently makes her the third highest selling Nigerian artist of all time — behind fellow female artist, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, and the legendary Ben Enwonwu.
Check out more of her work right here:
