exhibition - The African Mirror

Sep

05

2024

Kenyan artists reflect Gen Z hopes and frustrations in new exhibition

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AS young protesters in Kenya took to the streets in June to demand the government account for its spending of taxpayers’ money, the Wajukuu Art Project was opening a new exhibition in Nairobi. Visitors to In the Absence at The African Arts Trust Gallery are greeted by large installations. Draped materials hang from a pillowy sky, razor-sharp knives are welded to rusty iron sheets, suspended lanterns reflect off aluminium mirrors and poems are written on walls. Kenyan curator Rose Jepkorir’s text on the exhibition proposes that In the Absence creates an atmospheric space where visitors can reflect with themselves –…

Apr

27

2023

By The African Mirror

Moffat Takadiwa’s landmark exhibition uses found materials to comment on Zimbabwe’s colonial hangover

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MOFFAT Takadiwa is a Zimbabwean artist famous for creating work from found materials. His exhibition Vestiges of Colonialism, curated by Fadzai Muchemwa, opened at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe on 16 March. This is the 40-year-old Takadiwa’s first solo show in Zimbabwe in a decade. Having exhibited around the globe, he’s best known for his sculptures made from consumer waste and urban residues such as toothbrushes, computer keyboards and cheap perfume bottles. Author LIFANG ZHANG, PhD candidate in Art History, Rhodes University As an art historian focusing on contemporary Zimbabwean art, I have been researching the artist’s work for the…

Jan

29

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigerian artist’s exhibition showcases food preservation methods

NEWS

IN his latest exhibition, Nigerian artist Olufela Omokeko is exploring the importance of food preservation in a country where food is often spoiled due to a lack of quick access to markets and cold storage. During a recent art exhibition in Iwaya, a slum in the commercial capital Lagos, guests also had the chance to taste Omokeko's puree from dried tomatoes, peppers and local spices as he showcased age-old traditions on how to extend the shelf life of perishable food. Nicknamed "son of a pepper seller," Omokeko grew up seeing women who sell perishables at their homes or at the…

Jan

31

2023

By The African Mirror

A major new exhibition in Nairobi reveals the history of east African art traditions

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MWILI, Akili na Roho (Body, Mind and Spirit) – on in Nairobi, Kenya – is a major international exhibition presenting east African painters who are key players in the modernist art of the region. Modernism in the fine arts refers to a period of experimentation from the late 1800s to the mid-1900s, a break from the realism of the past and a search for new forms of expression. Author ANNE MWITI, Lecturer, Kenyatta University The exhibition features a group of artists from different generations who vary in backgrounds, as well as in the themes and forms of their art. They…

Aug

31

2020

By The African Mirror

“My name is Ennock Mlangeni…You don’t know me yet…”

NEWS

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER FROM a small obscure town in South Africa to a major European city. From painting in a township shack in Sasolburg to a world-class exhibition Belgium. That is the incredible inspirational journey of artist Ennock Mlangeni, famously known for painting celebrities such as Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela, Oprah Winfrey and DJ Black Coffee, has landed his first international solo exhibition. Mlangeni’s first solo exhibition - "The Butterfly Finds its Wings" - opened on August 28 in Genk, Belgium at the Uitstalling Contemporary Art Gallery will run the exhibition until 4 October. And he sold two works on…