Needs a Frame”. The exhibition will run at Alliance Française, from April 16 to April 27, 2025. This expansive exhibition accompanies the documentary Every Picture Needs a Frame, directed by Lucy Chodota. Together, the film and exhibition delve into the complex relationship between the late renowned American photographer Peter Beard and eight Kenyan artists who were part of his Hog Ranch studio from the 1960s to the present.
The artists had a profound influence on Peter Beard, the owner of Hog Ranch Studio (now Pamoja Art Collective). Despite collaborating with him for over four decades (1967–2017), their contributions and artistic influence have remained largely unrecognized, both locally and internationally.
Through this exhibition, Lucy intentionally brings their work to the forefront. She highlights pieces that span four decades and reflect the deep, intertwined relationship between humans and wildlife. The collection places particular emphasis on conservation approaches that challenge and dismantle imperialist narratives around wildlife.
One of the featured artists, Elizaphanson Mwangi (b. 1945; Murang’a County, Kenya), first drew Peter Beard’s attention through his carpentry skills. Beard hired him to build and repair tents and other structures at the camp. Mwangi went on to become one of the founding members of the Hog Ranch Art Department. Known affectionately as “Mzee Mwangi,” his uses watercolour, tempera, and ink to create intricate border illustrations. By embellishing the borders with ornamental motifs, he crafts harmonious visual planes where insects, plants and flowers seamlessly converge.
Acrylic on paper
31 x 44 inches. Image. courtesy of Stellar Highway
Solomon Mugasia (b. 1976; Busia, Western Kenya) creates abstract works using unconventional tools and natural elements—dead insects, leaf prints, even his own feet. His textured, layered compositions explore ecosystems of people, animals, and symbols emerging from complex abstract washes. Through his work, he affirms that these bonds “make us one with all, and are sustained through love.”
Similarly, Peter Marimbe Parsimei (b. 1978, Kajiado County, Kenya), who collaborated with Peter Beard at Hog Ranch from 1999 to 2011, describes his practice as “imagination art.” He employs dotting and collage techniques to emphasize the spiritual and cultural importance of animals in communal worship. His work explores themes of wildlife, ritual, and identity—blurring the lines between the seen and the imagined.
Each of the paintings call for environmental conservation while showcasing harmonious relationship of the Kenyan ecology. This is not the first time that documentary filmmaker Chodata and the Pamoja collective have interacted, having exhibited in at the New York in 2023.
The exhibition stands as a call to reframe the lens as far as wildlife conservation practices are. concerned. It calls to attention the importance of coexistence, communal worship and community as an important grounding factor in the contemporary world.
Click here to check out Peter Beard Studio catalogue
Visit ‘Every Picture Needs a Frame’ by Pamoja Art Collective at Alliance Francaise, Nairobi, Kenya from 16th April 2025 to 27th April 2025.
