Check out Oto-Abasi Attah’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Oto-Abasi Attah.

Oto-Abasi, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I have drawn all my life. As a child, I was really inspired by The Simpsons the most: I loved the messages that were behind the shows and tried to emulate that into my drawing style. I was discouraged a bit when a girl that I liked told me my drawings “suck” and I stopped drawing for a while. Then in high school my ceramics teacher saw my drawings and insisted that I take it seriously. Growing up in a Nigerian household, I was taught that art is not considered to be a “practical” career I could pursue, so although I appreciated my teacher’s comment, I did not think much of it.

When I went to college, I had a hard time adjusting to the environment and simply just did not like the school choice that I made. I started drawing again because it made me feel like I can create the best of any situation. My friends saw my drawings and suggested that I take it seriously as well, but the school did not have curriculum that was accommodating for the arts. There really wasn’t much to do there, and I did not feel like going to school anymore because I felt that my intelligence was being gauged by limiting tests. For fear of relaying those sentiments to my family, I stayed enrolled. After a while, my grades did not reflect my abilities and I was kicked out of the school.

When I came back home and told my family of my school situation, I felt like a failure and spiraled into a depression. I was lost. I was lost in myself and felt alone. Art was a safe space that aided me through my depression. The more pieces that I created and shared with people, and the more opportunities I created where I could be myself, I realized that I was not alone. That other people went through the same things I went through. The fact that they could also find comfort in viewing my pieces made me feel really good. When my nephew expressed to me that he saw some of himself in my work, he told me I should try and get some of them in museums. That really warmed my heart, and I knew what I had to do.

After that I decided to take art seriously. I have since shown my work at ComplexCon and Art Basel Miami. I have also done work for Black Lives Matter, AfroPunk Atlanta, and the LA Philharmonic. I am currently the Art Director for an amazing cultural architecture firm, Trap Heals. What I love seeing most is the reactions of people and the unique feelings they experience from my work.

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I create illustrations and paintings for people to have a conversation with their subconscious or their inner child, as I like to refer to it. When most people think of self-healing, they often compare it to a dark, lonely path full of monsters and skeletons of their past.

True as that may be, I see it as healing the neglected inner child. From my personal journey, I noticed that the closer I am to my inner child the closer I am to happiness and being one with myself. I use cartoon-like imagery to get the viewer to look at my work through the lens of a child, and then make their way to adult logic and reasoning. Much like any cartoon on television, my work attacks the brain on multiple layers. On the surface my work looks like just a cartoon, but the more you look into it, it becomes a portal to your subconscious forcing you to ask questions that you would not normally ask yourself, along with an overarching theme of African expression.

To create my work, I usually start by using a concept that everyone knows, and then seeing how I can take the familiar (i.e. a flower, birds, or a stage) and reframe it for the viewer to give them a new familiar. I want my work in museums so that the children that look like me can see that everything does not have to be so serious looking in order to have a major impact, and for them see themselves as worthy subject matter. Healing begins from the inside out; ultimately, that is the journey I would love the viewer to go on while learning a little bit about my experience.

Artists face many challenges, but what do you feel is the most pressing among them?
There is an over saturation of art for people to choose from, and in the social media world it is very difficult to grasp one’s’ attention. It can be a little challenging putting out unfamiliar or original content without having an icon that people can easily identify you with. Great art also takes a lot of time, not necessarily to create it but to live it, and because of the pressures of society and the need for immediate success, it is somewhat difficult to take time and create pure art.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
Most of my work can be found on my Instagram page.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @otoabasiart
• Twitter: @photonoph

Image Credit:
Gio Solis, Ojos Nebulosos, Naila Barcelona

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