Our homes are an expression of the way we live, shaping our everyday routines and basically affect our wellbeing. And so are the towns we grew up in.

Mwanza-born Undare Mtaki recently gave a home story exhibition that will run to February 1, at the La Galerie Alliance Francaise, in Dar es Salaam.

It is packed with memories from his home town of Mwanza, in particular the Sizu Island in Lake Victoria, one of a series of islands in Ukerewe district where his family has its roots. Most of his artwork has titles in Kikala, his mother tongue.

Mtaki uses rectangular shapes painted in acrylic and highlighted with stones, sand or granite. The shapes, colour and texture on canvas are a reminder of the pixels created by the use of sand, stones and granite.

Sizu's Fitanda Boy

The two-part collection is: Home stories, depicting the spirit of the Sizu fisherfolk; and Childhood stories, representing his perception of Mwanza’s nature through pieces like Fitanda Boy and that of the people of Sizu through Obhusu, which means faces.

The exhibition room is dominated by the huge Makokoro that details a method of fishing. “On the island, a common sight is that of scores of fishermen in formation, pulling in nets. It is the way of life as our people depend on it. Fishing binds the community.

Mtaki has a five-picture collection under the name, Obhusu, but with different textures and colour prefixes, orange Obhusu, green Obhusu, purple Obhusu, brown Obhusu and grey Obhusu. They are his childhood perceptions compared with his adult view of the world.

His recollection of nature is a portrait titled Spirit Boy, of a boulder and a huge tree, to depict a place where locals played and gather under a big tree.

The Nyelango from Sizu Island piece is of the community's economic activities from fishing to agriculture and leisure.

The Bismarck Rock is of a Mwanza landmark by the same name. It celebrates the region, with the shades of time inspired by the colour and texture of Mwanza stones. Fitanda Boy is his memory of playtime in open spaces where wild edible fruits were available anytime, and it was a laidback time of his life.

The artist used to sit atop smaller stones and paint in his adulthood, linking his past and present, hence the subtitle, Shades of time.