Though two figures are depicted in Toyin Ojih Odutolaâs The Flavor and the Intent, 2015, their bodies are intertwined in such a manner that itâs nearly impossible to distinguish which body is which, save for the hair on their two separate heads,  joined together in a kiss. While Ojih Odutola believesdrawing is composed of âmarks that are made to delineate and create singularities within an imageâ[1] , this piece pushes the boundaries of mark making where a psychedelic, mosaic pattern wavers throughout the two figures, unifying them. By  utilizing a grisaille color palette, Ojih Odutola demonstrates the various textures, tones, and shades that can be created with just pencil and marker. Rather than focusing on the contours and precise linework that is traditionally associated with drawing, she suggests alternative visual cues such us the layering of tones and spatial recognition to help viewers navigate, and also get lost within, the work.
This spotlight on the âothernessâ of The Flavor of Intentspans deeper than just the pieceâs formal qualities. By avoiding exactness of both color and form, Ojih Odutola  both removes and speaks to the context of race and skin color. The variances of tone demonstrate that there is no one exact definition of âblackness.â Without the direct association of color, Ojih Odutola explains, âyou can move into places you never thought you could go or, at least, those places you never considered, which, ironically, leads you back to race, begging the question of why we have such limited perceptions in the first place.â[2]
-S.C.
Image:Toyin Ojih Odutola, The Flavor of Intent, 2015, Marker and pencil on paper, 57 ž x 41 15/16 inches
Text: [1] Emory Lopiccolo, âToyin Ojih Odutolaâs âOf Context and Withoutâ at Jack Shainman,â on whitewall.art, Â 2016. https://www.whitewall.art/art/toyin-ojih-odutolas-of-context-and-without-at-jack-shainman
[2] Emory Lopiccolo, âToyin Ojih Odutolaâs âOf Context and Withoutâ at Jack Shainman,â on whitewall.art, Â 2016. https://www.whitewall.art/art/toyin-ojih-odutolas-of-context-and-without-at-jack-shainman
Flavor of Intent, 2015 is included in Drawn Together Again at The FLAG Art Foundation from February 23-May 18, 2019.

















