We are often asked “What is TuTchT and what does it have to do with LoJoWerkz?
TuTchT IMAGING (pronounced “touched”) is a small graphic design operation founded by LoJoWerkz co-founder Tim Long. Although started independently of each other the output of both LoJoWerkz and TuTchT are coming from the same place and rooted in the same basic purpose: to create art that celebrates, explores and deconstructs the African-American male archetype.
We’ve handled all the art and graphic elements for LoJoWerkz shows through TuTchT and are excited to begin creating film work which will allow us to blend these two worlds even more.
As a separate entity, the TuTchT brand creates lots of artwork to promote and celebrate young men of color in the entertainment and fashion industries. Sometimes there is crossover. When we promote our Street Dance fam, its usually on the LoJoWerkz IG page (but the portraits and video editing would be considered “TuTchT joints”) We also occasionally create TuTchT artwork that celebrates Broadway shows and performers. These also fit more with the LoJoWerkz brand and show up on LoJo pages first.
Here are some of our most popular TuTchT Broadway joints:
Here are some of our most popular TuTchT Broadway joints:
When we’re working on a micro-micro-micro-budget project (which is often. haha) we sometimes use TuTchT graphics/video as barter with artists we’re working with on LoJoWerkz projects.
In recent years we’ve also been increasingly commissioned by our fellow creative organizations we share common purpose with. Our own production schedule prevents us from taking on too many of these commissions & collaborations but in some cases its a must. Such is the case with Femi Ogun’s Identity Agency Group and Identity School of Acting. Their similarly aligned purpose of promoting actors of color in the UK is what first drew us to them years ago, long before their recent explosion of successes. We supported and promoted their young (then unknown) actors before they crossed the proverbial pond to take Hollywood by storm.
Another one of our favorite collaborators is the international dance star Lil Buck. Not only is he the star of our very first experimental foray into film (In a short called “HotFoot” now in production) but our TuTchT work for Buck has been an on-going adventure, allowing us to intersect-by-proxy with some incredible entities, including Nike (we designed Buck’s official logo with him when Nike gave him a line of signature kicks) and last year when a group of Karl Lagerfeld’s close professional friends were asked to design shirts in his memory (The White Shirt Project) which were exhibited, toured, and sold to raise money for medical research, we worked with Buck to bring his ideas into reality.
Yes, it's true, the line between LoJoWerkz and TuTchT is sometimes fuzzy and we sometimes use the brand names interchangeably, sharing the same work on both social media pages. One difference, however, is that if the project is a musical theatre work that Jerome and I have created for the stage, it is a LoJoWerkz project.
As we move more into work for the screen the lines might possibly blur even more as the “TuTchT look” will be applied to our musical works which we produce.
As we move more into work for the screen the lines might possibly blur even more as the “TuTchT look” will be applied to our musical works which we produce.
This long diatribe should have answered the TuTchT / LoJoWerkz question in full.
Lots of overlap.
Two sides of the same coin.
Who’s the guy that shows up all over the TuTchT page?
Harry Uzoka was a young man I got to know in the early days of his career as a newly signed model in London. He had a wonderful quality that is hard to put into words but he quickly became a “TuTchTmuse” serving as the model for many of my projects precisely because of those qualities. For nearly 7 years we regularly built each other up as creatives, stimulated each other’s minds as endlessly curious humans, and bounced ideas back and forth. We each had personal collaboration projects with the other on the drawing board when he was taken from us.
He was tragically & needlessly murdered on Jan 11th, 2018 in a knife attack by a jealous acquaintance. His death affected me greatly. I vowed to keep his incredible gift of visual communication alive by trying to post images of Harry on the 11th of each month, often in the form of newly created TuTchT portraits. It's become a beautiful ritual; a personally healing respite each month that provides an opportunity to dwell on my purpose and how much Harry embodied it, and a ritual that hopefully helps keep his legacy strong in the googleverse. When my production schedule gets busy, I’m not able to post much on my social media, but I try to keep Harry Remembrance Day is a staple. The result may be that TuTchT, at times, appears to be a site dedicated exclusively to Harry Uzoka. (which wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.) So now you know who this magnetic brother is and why he dominates my TuTchT IG page.
Here’s one of my favorite, and most moving remembrance posts I created for Harry. I tried to edit it days after his murder but it was too emotional a task. I finally completed it 3 months after his passing.
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