By Margaretta
wa Gacheru (posted 1 February 2018)
Collage by Asteria Malinzi
With a view
to ‘investigating’ the process of creative expression as well as the materials
involved in such an endeavor, all twelve young artists have been given a free
pass to explore new terrain without the pressure of perfecting a finished
product. It’s that sense of possibility and freedom that permeates the ‘New
Threads’ show.
At the same
time, it also feels like risky business inviting artists to pay more attention
to the process of creation than to the final outcome. The same could be said in
the case of miscellaneous materials used by the twelve.
Their
materials range from plastics, papers and assorted textiles and threads to
violin cases, Kaunda suits and video footage. But what matters is the way each
of the artists—all of whom except for Tahir Karmali, are women -- work with the
materials of their choice.
Agnew Waruguru Njoroge's wall hanging
As it turns
out ‘New Threads: investigating process and material” is fanciful and fun. It’s
filled with delightful discoveries, especially related to new talents emerging
on the local art scene.
By
happenstance, a number of them are currently out of the country. For instance,
Maral Bolouri is in Paris, Souad Abdel Rassoul in Cairo, Wambui Wamae-Kamiru Collymore’s
in London, Tahir Karmali’s in New York, Asteria Malinzi’s in Dar es Salaam and
Wanja Kimani in Cambridgeshire.
But in a
way, that only adds to the show’s
richness since their works are wide-ranging in originality and
innovative styles. Plus the blend of the solid (Tamayo’s concrete and bronze
footballs) and the fluid (Waruguru’s plastic ‘waterfall’) make for a delicious
mix of feminist art.
The
processes themselves are diverse. Wanja Kimani and Jackie Karuti both work in storytelling
video while Soaud Abdel Rassoul, Syowia Kyambi and Wambui Collymore each
display different concepts of an installation.
One could
describe Joanne Patterson Tamayo’s footballs as sculptures, each echoing the
homemade plastic-bag balls she’d seen in her youth. Agnes Waruguru Njoroge’s
cascading plastic pink and white shredded sheets suggest a free-flowing sort of
sculpture as well.
Souad's violin cases
What’s irresistible
is Waruguru’s mixed media wall-hanging (once a bedroom curtain) sparsely
covered in embroidery stitched and mixed with shredded Kanga samples.
Asteria Malinzi
also works with Kanga only her five collages are more like paintings comparable
somehow to Nadia Kisseleva’s award-winning beaded linen works, understated in
their elegance.
Maral
Bolouri is the only one of the 12 to create a mobile hung with feminist images
that continue exploring themes of gender, identity and sexuality
Both Maliza
Kiasuwa and Tahir Karmali created wall-hangings for this show. Both address
complex issues of nationality and history. Otherwise, the two are different in
every way. Tahir’s process of papermaking is infused with political and
historical themes while Maliza’s monumental wooly wall piece is ablaze with a
regal raffia grass crown, a lava-like landing and thick wild-fire red yarn.
Aptly named “Nyirogongo, the Divinity Volcano,” hers recalls the one that
erupted in Eastern Congo, near Maliza’s home in 2002.
Her majestic
diety is one of my favorite works in this show matched only by Souad Abdel
Rassoul’s three exquisitely-painted violin cases which also echo her people’s
(classical) history. For in ancient Egypt, the coffins of elites were painted
with portraits of the deceased. Souad’s cases are meant to be reminiscent of
those ancient coffins, only hers are contemporary works of art. But just as the
ancient coffins were meant to memorialize the eternal life of the deceased, Souad’s
portraits also bestow an enduring vitality to her violin cases.
The fact
that 11 of the 12 artists in ‘New Threads’ are women is especially exciting
since women exhibitions in Kenya are rare. If they happen at all, they’re
usually held in March coincidental with International Women’s Day on March
8. But the exhibition’s curator Danda Jaroljmek
chose to ‘jump the gun’ by starting off the new year with newly emancipated
voices of women.
New Threads
is a show to be studied, not perused casually. It’s not the sort of exhibition
that initially makes a lot of sense since people tend to believe art galleries
are for viewing aesthetically-pleasing artworks. But this exhibition challenges
the viewer to work along with the artists to ‘investigate’ not just a finished
work, but also the media and the modalities of their creative processes. It’s a
fascinating new way of appreciating contemporary Kenyan art.
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