Mwili, Akili na Roho will run at the Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute, Nairobi, Kenya from until 18th Feb 2023
Mwili, Akili na Roho (Mind, Body, and Spirit in Swahili), an exhibition of more than 40 works produced between 1950 and 2000, offers a starting point for a greater introspection into the histories of artistic production in East Africa as well as the enduring influence of specific ideas and institutions on the production, dissemination, and reception of art in/from East Africa. These influences include politics and society, faith and religion, the natural and supernatural, and the body and sexuality.
The artists include, Sam Joseph Ntiro (1923 – 1990), Asaph Ng’ethe Macua (b. 1930), Elimo Njau (b. 1932), Jak Katarikawe (1940-2018), Theresa Musoke (b. 1942), Peter Mulindwa (b. 1943), Sane Wadu (b. 1954), Chelenge van Rampelberg (b. 1961), John Njenga (1966 – 1997), and Meek Gichugu (b. 1968), both formally and informally trained represent a cross-section of figurative painting from East Africa, particularly Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
Image courtesy of CotemporaryAnd
The exhibition was originally conceived by Michael Armitage, a Kenyan-born artist and founder of NCAI who works between Nairobi and London. His colourful, dreamlike paintings are loaded with provocative perspectives that play with visual narratives and challenge cultural assumptions, exploring politics, history, civil unrest and sexuality.
The exhibition focuses entirely on painting as one of the most prominent mediums of expression in art, representing a sort of history of the painting of east Africa. It’s an entry point for a deeper engagement with this history, and the enduring influence of creative ideas and art institutions from the region. The artists, who have official and informal training, exhibit a variety of East African figurative paintings, with a focus on Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
Mwili, Akili na Roho was first presented at Haus der Kunst, Munich (2020), then at the Royal Academy of Arts, London (2021), as part of Michael Armitage: Paradise Edict, curated by Anna Schneider, and Anna Ferrari respectively. This third iteration of the exhibition expands upon the first two, introducing additional works from the collection of the Weltkulturen Museum, Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Arts, private collections in Kenya, the UK, Japan, and works on loan directly from the artists.
Image courtesy of Royal Academy
This exhibition also demonstrates how visual art can be used as a tool to educate about history. On the subject of Faith and religion, Land and politics and the structural background of the artists, these works present eye-catching narratives of personal truths.
According to Anne Mwiti Lecturer, Kenyatta University;
Faith and religion
For example, the idea of faith and religion is represented by works such as Ntiro’s Agony in the Garden (1950), an African representation of the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane before his crucifixion.
In the 1980s, Wadu took a different approach to the same subject. He paints himself as Jesus in Walking on the Water and in Give us Our Daily Bread. He tells his personal story of faith through his paintings. He attributes his success in life to God, having had tuberculosis as a young man but healing as a result of his faith.
There are also artists who have approached religion in the form of African mythology about humanity. Mulindwa did a great deal of research into the myths of the Toro people of Uganda, which influenced his art.
Land and politics
Katarikawe’s works feature cattle as symbols of life, borrowing directly from his and other people’s everyday lives. Nature and landscapes also feature prominently.
Ideas about land and politics offer social commentary throughout, about colonialism and the theft of the land.
Landscapes are also touched on by artists such as Musoke, who sought refuge in Kenya, leaving Uganda during the reign of dictator Idi Amin. Mulindwa’s large, chaotic landscapes depict a subtle social commentary on the oppression in Uganda.
Image courtesy of Royal Academy
East African art structures
It is useful, when looking at the exhibition, to also reflect on the artists’ backgrounds. Five were educated at Makerere University in Uganda, creating a school of thought of huge significance in east Africa.
These interconnected backgrounds allow reflection on the art structures and spaces that have existed in east Africa. After independence in the region, there was a short period when Makerere University, the University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and the University of Nairobi (Kenya) were part of a single art school, Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Art. There was an exchange of knowledge and influences that can be traced in the body of works in the exhibition.
The other five did not receive any formal training in art. Among them, Njau was the founder of the Paa ya Paa Arts Centre in Nairobi and Musoke taught art at universities for about 25 years. Wadu was one of the founding members of the Ng’echa Arts Collective in Kenya (established in 1955 and commonly referred as the “village of artists”) and rose to prominence at Gallery Watatu in Nairobi, where Gichugu had his first solo exhibition.
Image courtesy of Royal Academy
This area has appropriately been claimed by the Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute, and Mwili, Akili na Roho is an illustration of some significant decisions the gallery is making in support of the art in Kenya. The display is significant in its ability to educate students who want to learn more about history.
About The Nairobi Conteporary Art Institute
A non-profit visual arts center devoted to the development and preservation of contemporary art in East Africa is called the Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute (NCAI). NCAI, which was founded in 2020 and welcomed visitors in January 2022, intends to build on a history of efforts that have told the tales of the artists and endeavors that have influenced the area’s contemporary art scene. It aims to act as a hub and resource for the vibrant East African art community and as an exciting cultural venue for audiences through exhibitions, the creation of an East African art archive, a public program of lectures, and a multimodal educational program.
