Toyin Odutola Quotes & Sayings

“The social media bit is really about documenting process. I like the dialogue if it's constructive, but I'm now at a crossroads. I've accumulated a lot of followers, and it's great, but I'm also at that teetering point where people are feeling themselves a little too much, commenting a little too much.”

“Being a black artist, the first thing people want to talk about is your blackness, the importance of your blackness, and your black presence.”

“For a while, I was nervous about portraying women because of the objectification that automatically comes with it, whether the artist intends or not.”

“I kept wanting to push my image as validity; I wanted to see my portrait on a wall and know it was okay.”

“I'm really interested in independent publishers and memes and mini comics. But even before that, I was interested in Japanese manga and anime.”

“My identity is not based on performance; it's based on something that's pre-determined by someone else, and I don't even understand what that is because I'm an African who came to America.”

“I don't think about race before I start drawing. I think about how to make that mark to fit whatever purpose I need it to fulfill.”

“I needed to create something I could take with me wherever I went.”

“The graphic style itself is influenced by a lot of very layered and detailed comics that I read as a kid, like 'Vagabond' by Takehiko Inoue.”

“I moved around a lot when I was a child; two of the houses I grew up in have totally disappeared. One was burnt in a riot, and the other was pulled down.”