The faces and figures of past and present
Friday November 09 2018
'Nothing Rhymes with Orange' by Daisy Bunyanzi and Jocye Kuria. PHOTO | KARI MUTU | NMG
The Faces and Figures exhibition is showcasing five women at the Karen Landmark Shopping Mall in Nairobi. It is presented by Art After Five in a multi-use office space.
Nadia Wamunyu presents nude watercolour figures on paper, in skin tones and shades of blue, and blue on stark white backgrounds. Her female figures hold their knees, fold their arms or lie on their sides facing their backs to us. My eye was drawn to the contortions of their bodies and I sensed a range emotions emanating from them.
In contrast, her oil on canvas images are more conventional, like Muslim Women Talks, showing a gathering of Islamic women in conservative dress. Heads and bodies are wrapped in colourful fabrics leaving only the faces and hands showing bare skin.
Joyce Kuria and Daisy Buyanzi collaborated in contemporary abstract portrayals with titles like Nothing Rhymes with Orange. In this painting, the face has a thick mane of black hair, layers of beaded necklaces and a cassette tape where the eyes should be. Their Afro-futurism works will appeal to those who like unconventional art.
Another Kuria-Bunyanzi collaboration is of a seated youth balancing a large stereo player on his shoulder with an introspective look, surrounded by blue shadows. It is titled Everything Rhymes with Blorange.
Husna Nyathira creates single line art. She draws continuous lines and uses limited colours for her portraits of women on black backgrounds.
Mukami Kingoriah remembers female freedom fighters like field marshal Muthoni Kirima. Pain and fierce determination etch the face of this dreadlocked warrior and others of an under-recognised generation.
Kingoriah also pays tribute to the last known male northern white rhino, which died this year. Sudan is an ink and bleeding watercolours painting of a prostrate rhino. It is melancholic, the lines flowing beneath the animal evoking spilled blood.
A zebra face picture, where the stripes extend above and below the animal, is called Barcode. Here Kingoriah draws attention to the labels society places on individuals.