Bio

Nailah Otunba is a mixed media artist currently based in Denton, Texas. They were born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but spent the majority of their life living in North Texas. In high school, Nailah elected to attend Frontier Academy where they studied AV and photography, focusing on graphic design and Adobe Photoshop proficiency. After obtaining their diploma, Nailah began their studies at the University of North Texas concentrating in Drawing and Painting. In 2020, Nailah became interested in Ceramics after attending some workshops outside of school and elected to change their major. Nailah now focuses on sculptural works, addressing themes of love, heartbreak, theology and human anatomy. 

Artist Statement

My work is very personal to me. I like to incorporate themes and symbols from my upbringing, my queerness, my blackness and my experience with love, partnership and heartbreak. My current body of work was born from a one-off piece, A Labor of Love and Heartbreak, wherein I sculpted 12 anatomically correct human hearts and abused them all upon completion, leaving visible damage to most of them. This prompted an interest in human anatomy as a whole, and it bled into my latest project. I’m continuing to explore the different “governing” organs of the body (heart, brain, gut) and their implications as we reference them as well as their functions within our bodies.