Speaking her mind with paintbrushes
Friday June 15 2018
Couple Living, by Nadia Wamunyu. PHOTO | KARI MUTU | NMG
Nadia Wamunyu, 25, uses her paintbrush to speak her mind.
Wamunyu has suffered from profound hearing loss since childhood and wears hearing aids.
“The universe neglected my hearing but gave me sight and a mind to work with,” she says.
From a young age Wamunyu has used drawing to express her memories, experiences and observations.
Some of her paintings are on show at the Tamarind Tree Hotel in Nairobi as part of an arts and sculpture exhibition curated by the Polka Dot Art Gallery.
Couple Living I and Couple Living II are abstract paintings in mixed media — ink, coffee and bleach. They are images of faceless, intertwined couples with spindly arms and legs, like the limbs of a tree.
Through these paintings, Wamunyu presents her view on relationships, namely that one can live happily without a life partner. Nevertheless, she adds, “There is someone for everyone.”
Her other monochrome paintings on paper include the Nude Relaxing series of semi-abstract naked women with blue hair.
“Every woman should be comfortable in her own body regardless of what society thinks,” Wamunyu says.
She does not restrict herself to specific styles or subjects. Using a variety of media including charcoal, pencil, biro, acrylics and oil paints, Wamunyu has also created images of nature and rural themes. Her multicoloured portraits of lions, rhinos and elephants incorporate the drip paint technique with dribbling of colours.
I am drawn to her landscape artwork of lakes and mountains, done in oils on canvas using broad brushstrokes. They are notable for their expressionist style, while the unusual colour choices enhance an emotional sense of the place.
During an artist in residency programme on the coastal island of Lamu in 2017, Wamunyu captured everyday life in a series of charcoal works illustrating donkeys at work, the island’s residents and the quintessential narrow streets of the town.
Wamunyu honed her art skills at the Godown Arts Centre in Nairobi under the tutelage of veteran artist Patrick Mukabi. More of Wamunyu’s work can be seen at her studio in the Kuona Trust art centre in Nairobi, where she mentors aspiring artists.