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Double triumph for Kenya in L'Atelier art competition

Saturday October 14 2017
m&os

Mothers and Others, by Maral Bolouri, and right, Footprints 4, by Elias Mung’ora. PHOTOS | FRANK WHALLEY

By FRANK WHALLEY

Kenya has enjoyed success in the prestigious Absa L’Atelier art competition — at the double.

Firstly, congratulations go to Nairobi-based artist Maral Bolouri, outright winner of this year’s Africa-wide competition.

Her installation Mothers and Others, which questions African cultural attitudes towards women, was chosen ahead of thousands of works submitted from nine African countries as well as Kenya.

Her prize is a six-month study term at the Cité Internationale des Arts, in Paris (the old joke being that second prize is for 12 months in Paris) with all expenses paid, a two-day seminar on the professional management of an arts career, a mentor to guide her development for 12 months, and the promise of a solo show in South Africa.

And then secondly, a place in the top 10 went to Kenyan Elias Mung’ora Njora for his collage Footprints 4.

Mung’ora’s subject was how everyday human activities alter our surroundings, which he interprets in collages of daily events within the city, layering photographs and paint to represent our footprints on the environment.

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That is his continuing preoccupation, although he also enjoys forays into figurative painting, the bedrock of art, examples of which form his current solo show at the Polka Dot Gallery, in Karen, Nairobi.

In these precise works, he sets out his credentials for recognition of his more difficult semi-abstract collages, rather as Bolouri’s figure drawing (which she used to teach while based at the Kuona Trust, in Nairobi) helps us to accept the integrity of her installations.

And her winning Mothers and Others assemblage for L’Atelier neatly illustrates an opinion I have long held — that the quality of finish in installations should be every bit as good as that expected from paintings, sculptures and other works of art.

I have sensed from several offerings that many artists seem to think that to have the idea, the concept, is sufficient. Never mind the rough edges, the wonky constructions and the barely functioning, stuttering electronics. We should be grateful for what they have deigned to give us and marvel at their brilliance.

Sorry, not so. Excellence in all departments is required. Without that it is barely art. It is just an idea, good or otherwise, awaiting realisation.

Proverbs about women

Bolouri’s piece therefore gladdened my heart.

The wooden framework was carefully constructed, its struts smoothed and meticulously jointed; hand made cow bells, which formed a witty part of Mothers and Others, sounded clearly; the labels that hung from them were large enough to read easily and the whole piece was inviting and accessible; a model, in fact, of how to go about it.

So what exactly is this prizewinning work?

Mothers and Others looks at how women have been represented in African cultural oral traditions, in particular at the positive and negative aspects of how they are referred to in proverbs.

Most proverbs about women show them as liabilities, except when they focus on their potential as mothers.

Mothers and Others reflects this and has three parts — the first containing the cowbells, from which hang examples of negative proverbs. An example of one of those, attributed to the Kikuyu, is: “A woman and an invalid are the same thing.” When a visitor reads one of the negative proverbs, its cowbell rings.

Beneath them, the second structure is a triangular altar holding the few positive proverbs about women, mostly related to motherhood, surrounded by extinguished candles. Something positive? As the Yoruba say, “If the whole word hates you, go back to your mother.” On the base of the altar are rows of candles, suggesting the possibility of future enlightenment.

The third part of the piece is a blank board hanging from the frame, encouraging the audience to contribute their own proverbs, at once drawing them into the work and its potential for stimulating awareness and change.

Shocked winner

For Bolouri, winning the award was such a shock that it led to sleepless nights.

“Honestly I couldn’t believe it,” she told me. “I could hardly sleep for a whole week. I was in disbelief — the work by the other finalists was so very strong.”

Bolouri, heading towards the upper end of the L’Atelier’s 21-35 age restriction, based her triumph on a career founded on rock solid basic skills, honed through a BA in Fine Arts, followed by an MA in International Contemporary Art and Design Practice. She has featured in group exhibitions in Kenya, the US, Malaysia and her native Iran, but we will not be seeing her in a solo show any time soon.

One restriction of winning L’Atelier is that her next solo exhibition must be at the Absa gallery in South Africa… although taking part in group shows is not proscribed.

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