Kilifi by the Indian Ocean by Nayianoi Sitonik
BY
Margaretta wa Gacheru (posted 31 July 2018)
‘Why I love
Kenya’ Is a visual art exhibition that opened last weekend July 29th
at Polka Dot Gallery in Karen.
By Coster Ojwang
By Coster Ojwang
The show
includes artworks by a dozen Kenyan artists, including Yony Waite, Wilson
Matunda, Patrick Kinuthia, Nayianoi Sitonik, Leah Njenga, Kennedy Kinyua, Elias
Mong’ora, David Roberts, Damba Ismaeli, Caroline Mbirua, Coster Ojwang and Anne
Mwiti.
Most of the
artworks were landscapes, colorfully amplifying the brilliant natural beauty of
the countryside. Most were filled with multiple shades of green that was
splashed across lots of rolling hills. Such are the paintings of Patrick
Kinuthia, Coster Ojwang and Caroline Mbirua. A few captured hues of Kenyan
waterways like Lake Naivasha (Leah Njenga), Lake Baringo (David Roberts) and
the Indian Ocean (Nayianoi Sitonik). Meanwhile, Yony Waite paints Athi Plains
using shades of black and white and a bit of ochre brown.
By Kennedy Kinyua
All that beauty clearly revealed why many people love Kenya. But then a few of the paintings display other dimensions of the country’s city life. For instance, Wilson Matunda’s ‘Players’ are deeply engrossed in playing checkers (be it in an informal or a gated community) while Elias Mong’ora’s and Damba Ismaeli’s Boda Boda (motorcycle taxi) drivers expose the fact that many urbanites (including myself) appreciate the convenient transportation that the boda bodas provide. Nayianoi’s tuk tuk offers the same sort of aid to us who don’t want to endure Kenyan traffic behind a wheel of our own.
By Yony Waite
All that beauty clearly revealed why many people love Kenya. But then a few of the paintings display other dimensions of the country’s city life. For instance, Wilson Matunda’s ‘Players’ are deeply engrossed in playing checkers (be it in an informal or a gated community) while Elias Mong’ora’s and Damba Ismaeli’s Boda Boda (motorcycle taxi) drivers expose the fact that many urbanites (including myself) appreciate the convenient transportation that the boda bodas provide. Nayianoi’s tuk tuk offers the same sort of aid to us who don’t want to endure Kenyan traffic behind a wheel of our own.
By Yony Waite
But it’s
Kennedy Kinyua’s congested yet colorful rural bus stage that displays a totally
other side of Kenya that is to be loved. For not everyone can afford to enjoy
the game parks and scenic sides of the country since we are working to put
bread on the table and pay our children’s school fees. Such workers can also
see the beauty of Kenyan daily life in the fellowship we find rubbing shoulders
side by side our friends and strangers.
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