DICKENS OTIENO, Kenya, b. 1979
Dickens Otieno’s tapestries uses and draws attention to the potential beauty in objects that would otherwise be dismissed as useless and discarded. He shreds aluminium cans and weaves them into tapestries, in a process informed by the weaving of natural materials such as papyrus, raffia, or palm that he observed growing up. His mother was a tailor and he spent many hours in her workshop amongst lesos and kitenges, whose colours and patterns have since influenced his aesthetic. This engagement with fabrics grows from an interest in the way pattern, colour, and iconography are used to imbue functional objects with meaning and identity. Otieno draws heavily on his immediate physical surroundings, particularly the urban environment in his native Nairobi to create his compositions. Objects piled high in markets, the constantly shifting skyline, the pockets of nature in the concrete and steel haze of Nairobi – these are the sources of Otieno’s inspiration for his richly hued, increasingly sculptural compositions.
Otieno has participated in numerous group exhibitions locally and internationally. Recent exhibitions include: See Here, Old Neals Auction House, Nottingham, 2018; Africa/Africa, Total Arts Courtyard Gallery, Al Quoz, Dubai, 2018; Young Guns, Circle Art Gallery, Nairobi, 2017; The Third Dimension, Circle Art Gallery, 2016; UNI-FORM MULTI-FORM, Roots Contemporary, Nairobi, 2016; Paint and Metal, National Museum in Nairobi, 2016. His recent residencies include the Tilleard Artist Residency in Lamu, Kenya, and a 6-week fellowship in Italy at the CIvitella Ranieri Foundation.
LEMEK TOMPOIKA, Kenya, b. 1988
Lemek was born in Kajiado and moved to Nairobi in 2007 to study drawing and fine art at the Creative Arts Centre, Nairobi. In 2013, he took a shared studio at the well-known Kenyan artist studio space, Kuona Trust to begin a full-time art practice where he was able to collaborate with and learn from other Kenyan artists. Lemek works exclusively with drawing, he uses charcoal, pastel and graphite on paper as his medium always drawing the human form but then partially or entirely obscuring them with charcoal and strong areas of colour . His work reflects his Masai heritage, saying ‘I consider the body as a vessel for time travel, belonging both in past times as well as in contemporary society’. He looks for common ground between contemporary philosophy and traditional beliefs and knowledge. Lemek's work has been shown in several group exhibitions locally and internationally including: Lucid Dreams, 2019; Identity, 2018; In Between, a solo show in 2018 and Young Guns, 2017. He has also participated in international, continental and national competitions including being shortlisted for the L’Atelier Prize, South Africa in 2017.