Nairobi — A State of Mind Cooperation Goethe-Institut Nairobi ...
Nairobi — A State of Mind Cooperation Goethe-Institut Nairobi ... Nairobi — A State of Mind Cooperation Goethe-Institut Nairobi ...
Jacob Barua (Kenya), Sam Hopkins (Kenya|Great Britain), Laura Horelli (Finland|Germany), Peterson Kamwathi Waweru (Kenya), Maasai Mbili (Kenya), James Muriuki (Kenya), Kevo Stero (Kenya), Studio Propolis (Kenya|Great Britain) Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, whose origin goes back to the 1899 colonial project of extending the railroad from the coast to Lake Victoria is one of East Africa’s most important economic hubs and seat of numerous inter- national organizations. In recent decades it has also become the center of a dynamic art and cultural scene. Hand in hand with the local effects of globalization, the liberalization of the national communication media, the advent of the internet in the 1990s, and the end of Daniel arap Moi’s repressive regime in 2002, fundamental changes have also occurred in the field of art. Despite the ongoing paucity of state support, numerous independently organized initiatives and transnational collaborations have arisen, whose actors share a growing interest in chal- lenging and critically questioning national narratives and sociopolitical developments. Against the backdrop of East Africa’s colonial past and power structures, some of which still exist today, the presented works in the KUB Arena develop their own views of their surroundings, their history and of the constant changes that make up contemporary Nairobi. In his series Nairobi—A Utopia in the Eye of the Beholder (2007–2012), Jacob Barua works with the city’s archi- tectural landscape, analyzing by means of photographic documentation the history inscribed in individual build- ings. All in all, in its conglomeration of widely differing, often imported styles and techniques, the series draws attention to Nairobi as a projection screen—a tabula rasa of implemented fantasies, utopias, and life visions. Laura Laura Horelli Horelli, Horelli Horelli by way of contrast, in her video work The Terrace (2011), returns to a residential complex where a number of her childhood years were spent. By means of photographs and video takes within a circumscribed area, she activates her memory of everyday family life, providing glimpses into the social structures of Kenyan society in the late 1970s and early 1980s. James Muriuki likewise employs the medium of photography, although in his case his gaze is turned on contemporary processes of change and move- ments in public space—buildings in process of construction that mark the current texture of the city as symbols of power, progress, and technology. Observations of their urban surroundings are the starting point for Peterson Peterson Peterson Kamwathi Kamwathi Waweru’ Waweru’s Waweru’ Waweru’ large-format charcoal drawings as well as the works of Sam Hopkins, Hopkins, Kevo Stero, and the artist group Maasai Mbili. Page 2 | 14
What they all share is reference to a society in which ideas and modes of life are imported and appropriated under the influence of historical and current social movements—the British colonial period and the later dominance of the de- velopment aid sector, Asiatic »migrant workers,« waves of refugees, and economically dictated rural depopulation. Rather than just trace this wealth of concepts and lines of influence, the artists are interested in extrapolating them into the present, encountering the city as a potential sphere of action, and dissecting out hidden structures in order to project their own pictures of a city–pictures that open up narratives that go way beyond postcard clichés, exoticizing external views, and national concepts of identity. Naeem Biviji and Bethan Rayner of the Nairobi-based architecture and design office Studio Propoli Propolis Propoli developed an architecture for the occasion of the KUB Arena exhibition that gives spatial expression to the content of the project. Page 3 | 14
- Page 1: KUB Arena 2012.04 | Press release N
- Page 5 and 6: Short Biographies Jacob Barua Jacob
- Page 7 and 8: Peterson Kamwathi Waweru Peterson K
- Page 9 and 10: James lives and works in Nairobi, a
- Page 11 and 12: Maasai Mbili, Chokora Wear, 2011 Wh
- Page 13 and 14: Partners and Sponsors The Kunsthaus
What they all share is reference to a society in which ideas<br />
and modes <strong>of</strong> life are imported and appropriated under the<br />
influence <strong>of</strong> historical and current social movements<strong>—</strong>the<br />
British colonial period and the later dominance <strong>of</strong> the de-<br />
velopment aid sector, Asiatic »migrant workers,« waves <strong>of</strong><br />
refugees, and economically dictated rural depopulation.<br />
Rather than just trace this wealth <strong>of</strong> concepts and lines <strong>of</strong><br />
influence, the artists are interested in extrapolating them<br />
into the present, encountering the city as a potential<br />
sphere <strong>of</strong> action, and dissecting out hidden structures in<br />
order to project their own pictures <strong>of</strong> a city–pictures that<br />
open up narratives that go way beyond postcard clichés,<br />
exoticizing external views, and national concepts <strong>of</strong><br />
identity.<br />
Naeem Biviji and Bethan Rayner <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Nairobi</strong>-based<br />
architecture and design <strong>of</strong>fice Studio Propoli Propolis Propoli<br />
developed<br />
an architecture for the occasion <strong>of</strong> the KUB Arena<br />
exhibition that gives spatial expression to the content <strong>of</strong><br />
the project.<br />
Page 3 | 14
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