In this pilot season, 4 students interview 4 artists in Nairobi and hear an amazing array of stories and anecdotes. Shared themes in these stories are; the financial challenges that were overcome, the importance of self-belief and tenacity, that Read more
Episode 1 – Syowia Kyambi
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“Art is about relationships and networks”
In this episode Syowia Kyambi gives a frank account of what it means to be an artist. Of how you need to really love what you do, to take all the opportunities that you can and to ask yourself which ones you might be missing. And about using your practice as a tool and approach to research histories, memories and identities from an embedded personal perspective. Syowia reflects on the past, on the joy and pleasure of working with artists that she respects and admires, and of the fundamental necessity of facing challenges in the right way. And she looks towards the future, setting out the aims and ideals of the space and collective which she has co-founded; Untethered Magic.
Syowia Kyambi is a visual artist and curator. Her practice, often mischievous and disruptive, collapses history into the contemporary and interrogating the painful legacy of colonial projects that still reverberate in the present. Her work is complex, often messy and deeply emotionally charged. Her performances, at times uncomfortable, ask viewers and participants to bear witness to an embodiment of collective experiences. Much of her work dissects and brings into question issues of race, perception, gender and memory, examining how our contemporary human experience is influenced by constructed history, past and present violence, colonialism, family and sexuality. Syowia’s courage, determination and creativity in exploring these themes is extraordinary and has made her a unique emerging voice in the continent’s art world.
Interview date: 19.02.21
Interviewer: James Muli
Production: George Opalo
Editing: Magdalene Ochieng
Host: Nduta Wangari
Post-production: Jacob Höfle
Links:
Episode 2 – Paul Onditi
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“Art is an experience with no formula”
In this episode Paul Onditi reflect and meditates on some big questions in the field of art. He talks about the encouragement he received from his mother in his early painting experiments (his first curator) and about how, many years later, his professors at art school didn’t show him how to paint, but created the conditions for him to find his own style. He talks about an artworld in which you either sink or swim, but at the same time, it is an artworld with no fixed criteria (what is good art?) that you as an artist can also shape and influence. He advises artists to be cautious with trends, but also suggests that they did not ignore them. This is a thoughtful and insightful series of observations on the perils and potentials of being a visual artist.
Paul Onditi is a painter whose works are deeply mesmerising and hard to decipher. Built upon a complex and labour-intensive transfer technique, in which photos, film and other found imagery are layered onto the canvas, these paintings evoke an eerie sense of loneliness. Yet they are compelling and compulsive, leading your eye further and further into previously hidden layers. His character Smokey, who often populates these strange landscapes, feels like a time traveler; like Paul himself, an observer and witness to the strange worlds that we live in.
Interview date: 20.02.21
Interviewer: Joakim Omwega
Production: Chris Njenga
Editing: James Muli
Host: Nduta Wangari
Post-production: Jacob Höfle
Links:
Episode 3 – Beatrice Wanjiku
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“There is never the feeling of I’ve arrived, only the need to keep making it better day by day.”
In this episode Beatrice welcomes us Magdalene into her studio (in the pouring rain) and takes us through her journey from Buruburu Insitute of Fine Art until where she is today. She talks about the influence of ‘bodymapping’ on her practice, about how we are more similar to one another than we first think and how paintings can bring us closer. This is intimate, open and honest reflection on the emotional engagement and emotional journey of Beatrice as an artist.
Beatrice Wanjiku is one of the most foremost painters of her generation. Her work is deeply introspective and hauntingly beautiful. Her canvasses typically show figures and faces, sometimes seemingly double-exposed, mouths often wide open as if howling, teeth bared. To peer into a painting of beatrice is to lose yourself in questions of being, of belonging and of existence.
Interviewer: Magdalene Ochieng
Production: Humphrey Manyara
Editing: Magdalene Ochieng
Host: Nduta Wangaii
Post-production: Jacob Höfle
Links:
Episode 4 – Brush Tu
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“Know the difference between dreams, fantasy and reality”
In this episode Michael Musyoka and Emmaus Kimani give us an insight into their own personal practice, and into the dynamics and workings of the Brush Tu artist collective. Speaking from their studio in Buruburu they talk frankly about a whole range of emotions and experiences they have had as artists. How harsh criticism hurts and is difficult to process, but that if you have the courage of convictions ultimately you will succeed. How financial pressures are real, but that an audience and appreciation for art in Kenya is only growing and social media is making selling easier. This is a compassionate and good-natured reflection on what it means to be an artist in Nairobi today.
Brush Tu Art (BTAC) is a Contemporary Artist Collective in Nairobi. Established in mid 2013 it consists of 12 artists (Abdul Kiproto, Boniface Maina, David Thuku, Elias Mung’ora, Emmaus Kimani, Kimani Ngaro, Lincoln Mwangi, Michael Musyoka, Muthoni Bushkimani, Peteros Ndunde, Sebawali Sio, Waweru Gichui). The name “Brush Tu”, which translates to “Brush Only” or “Just Brush, is derived from the artists’ tendency to opt for paint and brush as their preferred medium of expression. Brush Tu is based in Buruburu.
Interview date: 24.02.21
Interviewer: George Opalo
Production: James Muli
Editing: George Opalo
Host: Nduta Wangari
Post-production: Jacob Höfle
Links:
https://brushtu.org https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/arts/art-scene-nairobi.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/arts/art-scene-nairobi.html