About

I have always drawn. For as long as I can remember, making marks on paper is how I quiet the noise. It is not something I decided to do — it is something I have always just done.

Painting came later. Two years ago I picked up a brush and something opened up.

I have so much to say. I just find words difficult. So I paint instead.

Otti was born from a rock found on the ground — ordinary, overlooked, shaped by time into something that looked exactly like a skull. That is what I am paying attention to. The strange beauty hiding in everyday things. The meaning that exists before anyone decides to put it there.

In a world chasing pure aesthetic, I am interested in something older. Whimsy. Depth. The feeling that there is more going on beneath the surface if you are willing to look.

I want you to feel that when you look at this work. A little joy. A little wonder. The sense that the world is weirder and more alive than it appears.

I intended for 'Otti' to be anonymous. But the work is deeply personal and to understand my work it is important to know the artists, Naomi Olivotti.