Olivia's portrait of one of the Alfajiri street boys
By Margaretta
wa Gacheru (posted February 13 2020)
Olivia
Pendergast is an American painter based in Kenya who has a penchant for
portraiture. She loves doing it the ‘old fashioned’ way, by having her live
subject seated in her presence as opposed to relying solely on photographs.
Olivia has
found she doesn’t necessarily need her subjects to be seated without moving.
She has had enough experience painting portraits of people all over the US so
she’s flexible about how she works with people she hopes to paint.
Painting by one of the Alfajiri street boy artists
One problem
she has had during her current stay in Kenya (after visiting the country
several times before) is how to engage Kenyans who she wants to paint. But ever
since she met Lenore … and learned about the work she does with street children
around Nairobi, that problem has largely been solved.
Lenore
started Alfajiri in the slums to give street kids a temporary haven where they
not only get a square meal and a bath but also an opportunity to share their
stories and express themselves through an art project she started several years
ago.
“It’s a
project aimed at encouraging them to express themselves and potentially address
the traumas they have experienced while trying to survive on the street,”
Lenore told Saturday Nation.
Olivia's portrait of an Alfijiri street artists
That
objective hasn’t changed since I first met Lenore two years ago. But the art
project has been enhanced since Olivia came on board to teach the children art.
“I have
learned the children don’t want to be ‘taught’ in the traditional sense,” says
Olivia who currently shares a show with the Alfajiri youth artists at One Off
Gallery.
“What I do is
simply give them paper and wax pencils and let them do as they wish,” says
Olivia who has taught art in various places. “But when I see they are
struggling with a specific image, I quietly come over and give them a drawing
of what I think they’re trying to do. Then I leave them to follow my lead or
not.”
It is while
they are painting that she studies her young painters and then asks if they
would mind sitting for her for a short time. Initially, she does sketches as
they work so she can capture the subtleties of the boy or girl.
The young
Alfajiri artists had a group exhibition last year at Nairobi National Museum,
but this time round they are sharing space at One Off’s Loft with their new
mentor. Meanwhile, more of her paintings are on display on the Stables’ side of
the Gallery. Nearly all her art is focused on her portraits of the street
youth.
One of her
most beautiful paintings is of a double portrait which she created while still
in the States for a women’s festival in California. “I created it be be used as
a poster for the festival, but as I got to keep the original work, I decided to
include it in this show,” says Olivia who also included several landscapes as
well as portraits of her favorite cat and goat.
One thing
about Olivia’s method of painting is that she has to first feel something
special about her subject before she can paint their portrait. Upon meeting
Lenore and learning more about the trauma that many of these children face on a
daily basis, she asked if she could help by volunteering to teach them art.
As for
Lenore’s art classes, she was only too pleased to work alongside Olivia since
the youth are experiencing new things, especially seeing themselves on canvas
as portraits of a professional artist.
The
exhibition runs until February 23rd.
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