NGURE'S DO-IT-YOURSELF ART VIDEOS HAVE PRACTICAL VALUE

 

                                                           Evans Ngure with his sculptures

By Margaretta wa Gacheru (poted September 15, 2020)

Evans Ngure had a marvelous ‘up-cycled’ 3D art exhibition at Alliance Francaise last July which, thanks to COVID-19, few people came out to see. But his ‘Wheels of Life’ show remains online for fans to view, both on the artist’s YouTube channel and at ussuu.com, posted by Alliance Nairobi.

But what keeps me coming back to his YouTube channel at ‘Evans Ngure Art’ is not so much the AF show catalogue which features a wide array of his funky upcycled sculptures. These are mainly quirky creatures which Ngure magically assembled out of everything from bike handlebars, spokes, scissors, and bells to belt buckles, beads, buttons and light bulbs.

What is even more intriguing are Ngure’s informative art- and ‘how to make it’- videos that he has been posting regularly online since mid-July. What are especially appealing about the videos is that they are not only practical, insightful and infused with first-hand experience of the former ‘Junk Artist-in-Chief’ who now simply calls himself ‘Evans Ngure Art’.

                                                                                         Evans' Bull

They are also quite relevant as very many of them have been born in response to queries posed to him which are not necessarily related to aesthetics. That could be why he recently posted a short (eight to ten minute) video on ‘How to Sell Your Jewelry in Kenya and Abroad.’ Filled with what others might consider ‘trade secrets’, Ngure has no problem sharing practical information about where to go, when and how to make sales. He might be schooling the next generation of promising ‘junk artists’, youth who could one day be competing with him for the market on contemporary art. But clearly, Ngure doesn’t have a problem giving away useful tips of a trade that he’s pioneered along with elder artists like Kioko Mwitiki, Alex Wainaina and the Ugandan sculptor John Odoch Ameny.

In fact, only a fraction of Ngure’s videos are about jewelry-making, and none thus far are about how to create 3D sculptures like those he had in his ‘Wheel of Life’ exhibition.

“Those will come later on in my program, when I am talking about collage and assemblages,” says Ngure who might soon be called not ‘Commander-in-Chief of Junk Art’ as one of his videos is titled, but Junk Prof-in-Chief since he’s taken quite a systematic approach to his upcycling tutorials.

“I post my DIY [Do it Yourself] videos every Wednesday,” says the artist referring to his pithy clips on topics like ‘How to make’ a Bottle-Top Broach Pin, a Button Bracelet or a shiny silver Coin pair of earrings.

“Then on Saturdays, I post videos on related topics, often responding to questions posed to me,” says Ngure whose tips include home improvement-type videos like ‘How to install a floating shelf’ and ‘How to install an artwork using drawer sliders’. Videos such as these might not sound intriguing initially. But then, it’s fun just to see how Ngure comes up with these ingenious inventions and practical innovations upcycling objects deemed useless by some but transformed by the artist into clever means of decorating one’s household.

                                                                                            Evans" Shark fish

It’s a wonder that Ngure reveals so much of how he creates his art and jewelry. He says he isn’t planning on getting rich by posting his videos, at least not yet.

“I just enjoy getting this information out,” says the artist whose videos are surprisingly professional as they feature upbeat music and a variety of camera angles on the process of making a piece of jewelry or some other home-improvement item (like an all-purpose scrubber which Ngure uses to polish his semi-precious old coins).

“I’m the one who does all the camera- and sound-work as well as the editing,” confesses the artist who creates all his YouTube videos in his studio at Githurai.

“I don’t stay far from there,” says Ngure who has been creating videos non-stop throughout the pandemic. And while he uses public means (PSV) to get from home to work, he’s careful to practice social distancing (and to wear a mask) even on the matatus he takes.

A graduate of Kenyatta University’s Fine Art Department, Ngure recalls that he initially majored in painting. But then, his lecturer, Anne Mwiti suggested he try working in mixed media, including found objects (also known as junk). Her advice changed everything for the artist whose imagination seems to have been liberated once recycled materials became his main media of expression. His work has been noted by UNEP as well as BBC in their recent series on the African Renaissance.