WILD ABOUT ART

Wild about Art is a tented showcase of four artists, two painters, one photographer and a guest sculptor whose identity was kept secret until the exhibition’s opening last Friday afternoon at Utawali Place, in Kitisuru. Yet the sculptor, Oliver Weichelt serves in a sense as the glue that holds together this three-tented show. That’s because his stylish lamps, made from gears, air filters, and other auto spares collected from garages all over Nairobi, are displayed in all three tents. Otherwise, the other three, Niketa Fazel, Imran Awan, and Milena Weichelt each have a tent of their own. “We chose to have our exhibition here because there’s a lot of space and a beautiful garden that visitors should enjoy,” Milena told BD Life. But Utawali didn’t actually have a gallery per se, so the artists had to create their own art space inclusive of walls on which to hang their works of art. Fortunately, oliver didn’t have to engage in the wall hanging issue since many of his sculptures are either floor lamps or chandeliers, one of which hangs from each of the three tents. What he may have had was the challenge finding tables large and sturdy enough to display all of his table lamps, made out of everything from fly wheels and brake disks to oil plates, and ball bearings. Happy to share the exhibition with his painter wife, Milena, oliver also appreciates his colleague, kahindi katena who helps him assemble and weld together the auto spares of his choice. ‘Kahindi serves as both my eyes and my hands,” Oliver tells BD Life, after explaining that he is blind. But the oliver-milena connection is only one of several links that brought the foursome together. Milena and Nikela have been exhibiting together for years, both at village market, at Tribe Hotel and the UN recreation centre. But in this show, Milena also connects with Imran to create several diptych-like paintings on canvas. One side is an actual photo featuring a portion of either an elephant, rhino, zebra or lion. And on the other side is milena’s painted reflection of the same creatures’ prominent parts. Inran doesn’t consider himself a professional photographer, but their diptychs suggest otherwise. Practically all of Milena’s tent is filled with semi-abstract chunks of local wildlife that one can still see around the country. Admitting that she takes photos to use as reference points to work with once she gets home to her studio, her tent finds space for everything from a majestic leopard and giraffe to a hornbill, beekeeper, zebra, and genet cat to a chameleon, elephant, and Lake Nakuru filled with pink flamingos. But as Milena is also a book illustrator, a few of her original paintings created for the books are also included in this show. Finally, Niketa’s art is a radical departure from a focus on wildlife apart from her delicately drawn wild flowers. These include everything from Blue Iris, Hibiscus, dahlia, stedihia, to one giant sunflower. Niketa’s real strength is in her portraits of urban and intercity sites, like the blue oil barrels piled high at the junction and round-about where Laundies Road meets Njogo Road. Or the view from the top of KICC where Nikita painted the view running from City Hall Lane down Wabera Street straight to Jamia Mosque. At the same time, in her previous working life, Niketa assisted her father who was in construction. It was in that line of work that she often made her way around the city, including to so called ‘informal settlements’ or estates like Kibera where she snapped a quick shot of the Kibera railway line and the chicken casually crossing it. After that, the photo was transformed into a painting based on both her recollection of the event and the photo meant to ensure the realism of her portrait. She even found an old photo of a charcoal dealer selling his giant bags at a site near githurai but snapped before thika road became a super highway. “Back then, I think that area has been called roy sambo, but now I’m told it’s called Homeland,” Niketa says. Her glimpses from Nairobi’s past were actually not so long ago. But the rapidity with which the country has changed, especially with regard to our skyscrapers and super highways, makes us forget our heritage. Yet it also leaves us grateful that artists like Niketa have painted portraits of the city that are grounded both in memory and her photos which are reflective of the past. her way all around the city, including to so called ‘informal settlements’ or estates like Kibera where she snapped a quick shot of the Kibera railway line and a chicken casually crossing it. After that, the photo was transformed into a painting based on both her recollection of the event and the photo meant to ensure the realism of her portrait. She even found an old photo of a charcoal dealer selling his giant bags at a site near githurai but snapped before thika road because super highway. “Back then, I think that area has been called roy sambo, but now I’m told it’s called Homeland,” Niketa says. Her glimpses from Nairobi’s past were actually not so long ago. But the rapidity with which the country has changed, especially with regard to our skyscrapers and super highways, makes us forget our heritage. Yet it also leaves us grateful that artists like Niketa have painted portraits of the city that are grounded both in memory and her photos reflective of the past. her way all around the city, including to so called ‘informal settlements’ or estates like Kibera where she snapped a quick shot of the Kibera railway line and a chicken casually crossing it. After that, the photo was transformed into a painting based on both her recollection of the event and the photo meant to ensure the realism of her portrait. She even found an old photo of a charcoal dealer selling his giant bags at a site near githurai but snapped before thika road because super highway. “Back then, I think that area has been called roy sambo, but now I’m told it’s called Homeland,” Niketa says. Her glimpses from Nairobi’s past were actually not so long ago. But the rapidity with which the country has changed, especially with regard to our skyscrapers and super highways, makes us forget our heritage. Yet it also leaves us grateful that artists like Niketa have painted portraits of the city that are grounded both in memory and her photos reflective of the past.