*Due to open on 26th March, this exhibition has been postponed
Toyin Ojih Odutola (b. 1985, Ile-Ife, Nigeria) is a Nigerian-American artist who creates multimedia drawings on various surfaces, which examine the malleability of identity through ecclectic modes of story-telling. This exhibition at the Barbican Centre will be her first-ever in the UK. This epic cycle of new work will explore an imagined ancient myth, with an immersive soundscape by artist Peter Adjaye.
Toyin Ojih Odutola, recognising the pen as a ‘writing tool first’, plays with the idea that drawing can be a form of storytelling. Working exclusively with drawing materials including pastel and charcoal, she approaches her process of drawing as an investigative practice.
Ojih Odutola proposes speculative fictions, inviting the viewer to enter her vision of an uncannily familiar yet fantastical world. Working like an author or poet, she often spends months creating extensive imaginary narratives, which play out through a series of works to suggest a structure of episodes or chapters. Drawing on an eclectic range of references, from ancient history to popular culture to contemporary politics, Ojih Odutola encourages the viewer to piece together the fragments of the stories that she presents.
You can currently view an online exhibition of drawings and texts of ‘Tell me a story, I don’t care if it’s true’ at Jack Shainman Gallery’s Viewing Room
