Evans Mbugua (b. 1979, Kenya) will present Reconstructed Identities at La La Lande gallery, France, from 28th April to 10th May 2024. This expansive exhibition explores the transformative journey of selfhood, rooted in the artist’s own experiences after relocating to Paris at 19. Through vivid portraiture and symbolic fragmentation, Mbugua underscores the role of community as an anchor for Black diasporic identity.
Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Mbugua attributes his artistic ethos to lived encounters: “Everything I am stems from experience—what I’ve smelled, tasted, heard, or seen; the places I’ve been, the people I’ve met.” Reconstructed Identities thus reflects the fluidity of identity, shaped by environment and collective memory. His work interrogates how the self is continually remade through belonging.
Central to the exhibition is the philosophy of Ubuntu—the belief that “I am because we are.” Mbugua’s creative process mirrors this: his subjects undergo deliberate cuts, fragmentation, and reassembly, transforming each painting into a sacred act of renewal. The artist draws a parallel to the Japanese kintsugi technique—where artisans mend broken ceramics with gold, celebrating imperfections as part of renewal. He weaves fragments of glass from earlier works into new pieces, embodying resilience and the eternal cycle of growth.
Visually, the pieces burst with vibrant patterns and radiant backdrops. Mbugua employs pointillist dots and dynamic lines to weave his figures into their surroundings, illustrating interdependence. The subjects—adorned with headscarves, glasses, and bold expressions—exude a sense of pride and evolution.
The exhibition also draws from scholar Michael Onyebuchi Eze’s interpretation of Ubuntu: “We create each other… The ‘I am’ is not rigid but a dynamic self-constitution, dependent on relation.” For Mbugua, this resonates deeply with diasporic experiences, where identity is both inherited and constructed.
Reconstructed Identities is a testament to endurance, celebrating how community and collectivism foster regeneration. By embracing fragmentation as a site of potential, Mbugua invites viewers to reflect on their own narratives of belonging. As he asserts, “From debris comes renewal—a hope ready to awaken.”
Click here to explore Evans Mbugua’s catalogue.
