A seminal work by one of today s most vital figurative artists explores the complexity of race, wealth, and class through storytelling and multimedia drawings.
A seminal work by one of today’s most vital figurative artists explores the complexity of race, wealth, and class through storytelling and multimedia drawings.
This extraordinary illustrated story—Toyin Ojih Odutola’s best-known body of work—chronicles the private lives of two fictional aristocratic Nigerian families, the UmuEze Amara Clan and the House of Obafemi, if colonialist and slave-trade interventions had never disrupted the country. Rendered life-size in charcoal, pastel, and pencil, Ojih Odutola’s figures appear enigmatic and mysterious, set against the artist’s larger conceived narrative, highlighting the malleability of identity and assumptions about race, wealth, and class. The UmuEze Amara Clan and the House of Obafemi presents the story of these families in four chapters illustrated and authored by Ojih Odutola, accompanied by the artist’s sketches and notes. Also included are several insightful essays on the artist herself by noted writers and critics Zadie Smith, Leigh Raiford, and others.
An introduction to the artist’s vivid fictionalized world, as well as a reflection on the role of this body of work within her broader practice, this remarkable volume serves as the essential guide to Ojih Odutola’s unique form of storytelling.
"Featuring essays by Zadie Smith and others, this illustrated tale by a Nigerian American artist renders in charcoal, pastel and pencil two elite families in a Nigeria untouched by colonialism and the slave trade." —NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
"Best Gift Books of 2021: The UmuEze Amara Clan and the House of Obafemi tells the story of two fictional aristocratic Nigerian families living in a world untouched by colonialism and the slave trade. The narrative is told by Ojih Odutola through words and life-size charcoal and pastel illustrations. The book is an excellent introduction to the artist’s work and includes her original sketches and notes as well as several insightful essays by noted writers and critics Zadie Smith, Leigh Raiford, and others." —NEW YORK MAGAZINE
