The intimate relationship between colonial violence and independence led Kaloki Nyamai to investigate what happens when a fire is a form of familial erasure. He performs his investigation through painting, performative installations, and experimental works. How do we imagine ourselves when precariousness defines our lived experience?
This body of work examines reparations through recollections of tragedy and uses particular visual modalities to suggest healing, unification, and preparation for a new start.
“When
you look at the work, you will see writing like ‘black rock is not black’,
or
‘call me on the public hanging’.
These words are words said by the people. For me introducing text in the work
is very important, words are very strong and they have their own personality”
In Mwaki Nginya Evinda Enge, Nyamai is asking us to look
again at the conditions of our humanity.
- Khanyisile Mbongwa, Curator
Kaloki Nyamai: Kenyan, B. 1985
Visual artist Nyamai is known for his richly-layered multimedia paintings that feature the cow as a recurring symbol. In Mwaki Nginya Evinda Enge, Nyamai expands his creative landscape by experimenting with performative installation and interventions while he continues his investigation of recollection after tragedy.
Kaloki Nyamai lives and creates his work in Nairobi, Kenya. His work has been exhibited internationally, most recently taking part in the third edition of the Kampala Biennale, in August 2018. His work has also been shown at the AKAA Art Fair, in Paris and at Ebony Curated Gallery in Cape Town, South Africa. He will be participating in the Orstale Biennale in June, 2019 and he will take up residency at the August House in Johannesburg, South Africa, Sep-Nov. 2019.
“Mwaki Nginya Evinda Enge is a collection that furthers my investigation on the tensions between history and our identities. I take a deeper look at what recollection after tragedy looks like post-colonization and post-independence”.