Toyin Ojih Odutola

Toyin Ojih Odutola transforms Hamburger Bahnhof’s east cabinet into “Adijatu Straße,” a station on the fictional U22 underground line, in order to thematise the interplay of movement and history. Her narrative portraits trace the lives of various characters and incorporate every day or monumental settings, often interwoven with architectural details. Shaped by the artist’s upbringing as a West African woman in the Southern United States, Ojih Odutola’s work examines social and political dynamics through the vehicle of skin, the fluidity of expression, and the meaning of darkness and light. The artist’s first solo exhibition in Germany shows 25 works drawn on paper, board and linen. This is the 12th in a series of publications accompanying solo exhibitions of contemporary artists at Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart. In addition to exhibition views and images of artworks, it comprises a curato­rial introduction by Emily Finkelstein, an extensive interview by Sam Bardaouil with Toyin Ojih Odutola as well as an essay by Leigh Raiford. Text in English and German.