TOBIKO DOCUMENTS HIS MAASAI CULTURE VIA ART

                                 MAASAI CULTURE DOCUMENTED IN ART

By Margaretta wa Gacheru

Kenyatta University’s Department of Fine Art and Design finally got an art gallery of its own.

Having gotten by without a permanent gallery since the mid-1960s when the art department was initially set up, it’s been regularly exhibiting students’ artwork, according to Department Chair Adonijah Ombura. Only that the works have been hung in various venues, from the Students’ Business Centre to assorted classrooms depending on available space.

But since 2018 when the International Language and Culture Centre (ILCC) was constructed, thanks to support from the Chinese Confucius Institute, the Art Department finally got the spacious venue it had wished for.

“Anne Mwiti is in charge of the gallery,” says Chairman Ombura, who adds the space will be available to both KU students and faculty as well as the public at large. This latter point is a major departure from past practices which invariably projected an image of the university as an ivory tower far removed from wananchi.

The current exhibition, based on works by Masters’ degree candidates, just opened early this month and runs to the end of June. Both Rupante Tobiko and Patrick Esenerna have done rigorous research to develop the mammoth exhibitions they have put on display. One aims to document his people’s pre-colonial culture using a variety of techniques; the other examines the environment problem of trash and its potential for being transformed into splendid treasures.

Unfortunately, I missed meeting Esenerna. But Tobiko’s exhibition was such a rich multifaceted assortment of both the form and content of a singular theme that I spent my whole morning with him.

Developing a genre of painting that he calls ‘smoke art’, this Maasai man says he grew up playing not with fire but with smoke. “I used to experiment with smoke as a child since I grew up without electricity, only [kerosene-lit] flames,” says Tobiko who was born and brought up by Maasai parents who never went to school.

“But my father valued the education he never had, and sent all seven of his children to school, selling cattle for school fees,” says the artist whose exhibition constitutes not only his final project prior to earning a MFA (Master’s of Fine Art). It’s also the first step in his broader goal of documenting the entirety of Maasai culture.

Growing up in a manyatta and attending most of the traditional ceremonies that Maasai moran typically do, Tobiko says he is comfortable living as a man of two worlds. Nonetheless, his exhibition is focused

 on his people and features smoke paintings, sketches, video, and a catalogue filled with photos and sketches inspired by images of all things Maasai.

But as interesting as are his portraits of Maasai moran decked out in lion manes, ostrich feathers, and brass earrings, what is truly intriguing about his exhibition is his smoke art.

“I conducted 672 experiments working with smoke on various surfaces to see which ones worked best, “ he says, pointing at parts of his video that illustrate that research.”

“I found that smoke works best on surfaces that are smooth and porous,” he explains. “I experimented with everything from paper and cardboard to aluminium foil, canvas, and glass,” he adds.

His exhitibition only has one aluminum-backed painting and one smoke-painted glass. The rest were a mix of smoke on either paper, cardboard or canvas. But he used multiple techniques to create his portraits, including paper-cuts and stencils as well as literally painting using a flame almost as if it were a brush to create dark, smoky effects.

I have to ask how often had he started a fire with his smoke art? Rarely, he says, suggesting his nearly-complete command and control of his flames to create his smoke art.

Tobiko adds that he uses a fixer (or varnish) to ensure his smoke art didn’t get rubbed or smudged. “I left one painting half-fixed so the examiners could see the difference,” he says, touching an unfixed part of that painting to prove how delicate the technique actually is. His fingertip was covered in smoke!

All of Tobiko’s paintings are beautifully mounted, framed, and captioned with relevant details. Nonetheless, he had to explain one moran headdress made with dead birds (stuffed with grass) having beautiful plumes. “They were practicing early forms of taxidermy,” he says.

Clearly taking pride in being a Maasai, Tobiko has felt no conflict about having a Western education but still being deeply rooted in traditional culture.

“I’m committed to documenting as much Maasai culture as I can.”