Cover image for The UmuEze Amara Clan and the House of Obafemi
Title:
The UmuEze Amara Clan and the House of Obafemi
Publication Date:
2021
Publication Information:
New York, NY : Rizzola Electa, 2021.

©2021
Physical Description:
248 pages : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 32 cm
ISBN:
9780847870677
Abstract:
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.
Contents:
Foreword / Joeonna Bellorado-Samuels -- Taking up heirs / Toyin Ojih Odutola -- What would we be like if racism never existed? / Zadie Smith -- A matter of fact -- To wander determined -- Testing the name -- Scenes of exchange -- When legends die -- Toyin Ojih Odutola : museum of the African Diaspora / Leigh Raiford -- Toyin Ojih Odutola : by her design / Rujeko Hockley, Melinda Lang -- Toyin Ojih Odutola : testing the name / Logan Lockner -- Toyin Ojih Odutola : when legends die / Amber Jamilla Musser -- There is no story that is not true: an interview with Toyin Ojih Odutola / Osman Can Yerebakan -- Studio.
Language:
English
Holds: