by Mia Butter // July 8, 2025
Hamburger Bahnhof, as we know it, has only existed since the late 1980s. Previously the terminal station of the Hamburg-Berlin line, the train station was converted into a transportation museum, before becoming the contemporary art hub it is today. Back to its roots, the museum’s east cabinet has been transformed into a train station once more by Nigerian-American artist Toyin Ojih Odutola. Trainless, the fictional Adijatu Straße on the U-Bahn line “U22” imitates the Berliner train lines’ tiled walls and pillars, even its metal-wired benches that line the platforms. The “Perlenschnur” map used to list each station on a single line has also been recreated for Adijatu Straße, here it features A Colonized Mind Dorf, Scenes of Exchange Markt and Naija Imaginary Platz—referencing the local U-Bahn station nomenclature. With each point on the map named after one of the artist’s previous exhibitions, the latter refers to the Nigerian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2024, which included Ojih Odutola’s works alongside those of Precious Okoyomon, Ndidi Dike and others.
Toyin Ojih Odutola: ‘U22 – Adijatu Straße,’ 2025-26, exhibition view at Hamburger Bahnhof–Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart // © Toyin Ojih Odutola, 2025, courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, photo by Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Jacopo La Forgia
The cream-colored wall tiles and black pillars adorning the space aren’t exactly distinct Berlin U-Bahn markers, but the room’s grid ceiling lighting and metal benches could, perhaps, call the U8’s Paracelsus Bad station to mind. Adding to the illusion, the artist’s Berlin-based cousin, Benjamin, makes periodic announcements like those blaring from speakers inside the trains. Benjamin’s soft voice, however, gently permeates Adijatu Straße, announcing the train’s departure. “Einsteigen Bitte” is followed by a “Zurück Bleiben Bitte” and the announcement ends with Benjamin’s voice imitating the shrill BVG beeping, but in a softer, melodic tone. While many of Berlin’s U-Bahn stations are more colorful, postmodern and far dirtier, Adijatu Straße looks like their white-cube cousin. Adijatu is the artist’s Yoruba Muslim name given to her by her grandfather, which she has used to title both the exhibition and terminal station of the imaginary transport line. As an expression of self-identity and remembrance, Ojih Odutola does with Adijatu Straße what many German street and U-Bahn station names fail to do; reflect the people it represents. M-straße comes to mind, as well as several streets in the Afrikanische Viertel that were only recently renamed, after years carrying the names of German colonialists.
Toyin Ojih Odutola: ‘U22 – Adijatu Straße,’ 2025-26, exhibition view at Hamburger Bahnhof–Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart // © Toyin Ojih Odutola, 2025, courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, photo by Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Jacopo La Forgia
Born in Nigeria, and having moved to the United States at a young age, Ojih Odutola explores her personal experience with relocation in her work. Skin is a subject that enters her work time and time again, through texture, shape and shade. In her work ‘The Treatment 41’—part of a series of portraits on Dura Lar film—Ojih Odutola draws a young Prince Philip, his skin black from graphite and his hair white, empty. The artist adopts this technique—also seen in ‘Birmingham (right)’ and ‘My Only Constant’—of drawing skin in sections, almost like braided hair. The graphite develops a sheen on the Dura Lar, similar to the effect of drawing on tracing paper, creating and distorting depth. The sheen looks white, while the graphite tends toward black depending on the lighting situation, adding another dimension to the monochrome drawings. Referred to as “preparatory” and “everyday” materials in the exhibition texts, there is nothing everyday about Ojih Odutola’s painting-like pieces using chalk pastels, graphite, pens and alcohol markers. The colours in ‘2nd Generation’ and ‘Agitated Accountant’ are so bold and exciting, creating a haptic yearning one can’t act on. Rarely does an exhibition of drawings feel so much like a painting show. With large-scale works and bright, opaque colours, Ojih Odutola maxes out the capabilities of her media.
Toyin Ojih Odutola: ‘U22 – Adijatu Straße,’ 2025-26, exhibition view at Hamburger Bahnhof–Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart // © Toyin Ojih Odutola, 2025, courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, photo by Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Jacopo La Forgia
Another strength of this show lies in its fundamental conception. Expanding on the initial train motif, the notion of being uprooted and transported is a recurring theme in the artist’s practice, so including “uprooted” works from previous international shows is a welcomed addition—some of the works are also stylistically quite different, and visually contribute a nice change of pace from more recent works. We are offered a view of the artist’s development over the years, something which is uncommon outside of a retrospective, and this makes the older works’ recontextualization not just a means to an end, but an enriching curatorial gesture. The additional context feels important here, as this is her first solo show in Germany, and for many visitors, an introduction to her work.
Toyin Ojih Odutola: ‘U22 – Adijatu Straße,’ 2025-26, exhibition view at Hamburger Bahnhof–Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart // © Toyin Ojih Odutola, 2025, courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York, photo by Nationalgalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Jacopo La Forgia
It’s exciting to experience an exhibition where the works are strong, the curation matches the quality of the works and the concept follows suit. Toyin Ojih Odutola approaches drawing in an ambitious way that refreshes the traditional medium of pastel, stepping away from soft, gentle marks and embracing vibrancy and depth. Her storytelling continues from one work to the next, a collection of personal memories and new ones being made in Berlin: another stop on the Perlenschnur for her next exhibition.
Exhibition Info
Hamburger Bahnhof
Toyin Ojih Odutola: ‘U22 – Adijatu Straße’
Exhibition: June 13, 2025-Jan. 4, 2026
smb.museum
Invalidenstraße 50, 10557 Berlin, click here for map
