East Africa: Ask Not for Whom the Bell Tolls....

[Guest guest]

East Africa: Ask Not for Whom the Bell Tolls....

Whalley 9 October 2011

opinion

Sex work is one of the hardest jobs in the world, " writes Sheila of Nairobi,

" because getting into bed with different kinds of people who despise you is not

easy. "

The moral distress of prostitutes is not something that crosses our middle-class

radars very often. Yet this cry from the heart strikes me as entirely credible.

If one of the functions of good art is to offer a new way of looking at things,

then the exhibition of body maps touring Kenya is a huge success.

A body map is a life-size self-portrait, which through colours, pictures,

symbols and words, shows its maker more clearly. Produced during workshops aimed

at self-awareness, generating new pride and restoring dignity, it confronts

reality and in so doing perhaps points a way forward.

Body maps tend to focus by their nature on the stigmatised... sex workers,

homosexuals, people living with HIV and Aids. Through this therapeutic art they

realise their own self worth, which reading the notes accompanying some of the

maps is considerable.

These people have reason to hold their heads high. They have faced up to

terrible problems and set about dealing with them, which is a lot more than many

of us manage.

Some 19 body maps are on show at the National Museum in Nairobi, having already

been seen in Kisumu. Before that they were exhibited in the UK, Germany and the

USA. At the end if the month, they hit the road to Mombasa.

The sex worker Sheila, quoted at the start of this review, is a single mother

aged 41. Her body map, she tells us, uses black for the colour of her skin, and

pink as an expression of peace.

She also writes: " It helped me to accept myself and be proud of who I am, which

helped me to deal with discrimination and stigma. " She offers us this advice,

from the front line: " Avoid having unprotected sex. Life is hard and with HIV it

is even harder. "

Lucas, who runs a handcart business from Kibera, was diagnosed as HIV positive

in 2005. His wife died of Aids but to his amazement, he has since been tested

negative.

He drew a head with an open skull, " to show what is inside, " and detailed the

brain to demonstrate that it controls his body.

I thought at first it might be interesting to see what professional artists

could do with a similar technique of self-examination. But then I thought again.

For what these body maps lack in draughtsmanship (just about everything) and

painterly technique (absolutely everything) they more than make up for in

honesty and visceral force.

Even professional artists would have trouble equalling the way they burn on the

canvas and, in any case, every work by a serious professional is or should be a

body map in itself, revelatory and an exploration of the soul, whether presented

as a landscape, portrait or a bowl of flowers.

Our Bodies, Our Stories a fine exhibition that shines light on people we might

find it convenient to ignore yet who live among us and are part of our wider

family. Ask not for whom the bell tolls. Make time to see the show.

Another exhibition that repays a visit is that of kanga at the old PC's House in

Nairobi at the Uhuru Highway-Kenyatta Avenue junction.

It has been extended until the end of November and is both a joy and an

inspiration.

Called Kanga Stories, the Cloth that Reveals, it traces the history of the kanga

through 2,000 years of cultural interchange to the middle of the 19th century

when the Portuguese brought printed head squares to East Africa.

T hese were stitched together to make the first kanga as we know them today...

defined here as cotton cloths with matching borders and a central motif bearing

a proverb.With more than 100 kanga on show and interactive areas for adults and

children, it is a fascinating show, told through the kanga themselves and the

printed stories of people who have seen them, worn them and sold them.

Their variety is amazing. It would be possible, for instance, to form a

fascinating collection of those used for marketing (Ariel and Royco are examples

shown) or, say, those made specially for election campaigns.

There is scope too for a group featuring portraits of famous people. Examples

would include Barak Obama, and Jesus Christ.

Colourful, creative, endlessly inventive with their pointed proverbs used to

convey messages when a conversation would be considered too direct kanga embody

East African culture in their texts, images and use.

They provide, as this exhibition highlights so clearly, a common thread that

helps to unite the diverse peoples within East African society.

This exhibition was fun to visit and the most painless and entertaining history

lesson I have had for a long time.

http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/

[Guest guest]

East Africa: Ask Not for Whom the Bell Tolls....

Whalley 9 October 2011

opinion

Sex work is one of the hardest jobs in the world, " writes Sheila of Nairobi,

" because getting into bed with different kinds of people who despise you is not

easy. "

The moral distress of prostitutes is not something that crosses our middle-class

radars very often. Yet this cry from the heart strikes me as entirely credible.

If one of the functions of good art is to offer a new way of looking at things,

then the exhibition of body maps touring Kenya is a huge success.

A body map is a life-size self-portrait, which through colours, pictures,

symbols and words, shows its maker more clearly. Produced during workshops aimed

at self-awareness, generating new pride and restoring dignity, it confronts

reality and in so doing perhaps points a way forward.

Body maps tend to focus by their nature on the stigmatised... sex workers,

homosexuals, people living with HIV and Aids. Through this therapeutic art they

realise their own self worth, which reading the notes accompanying some of the

maps is considerable.

These people have reason to hold their heads high. They have faced up to

terrible problems and set about dealing with them, which is a lot more than many

of us manage.

Some 19 body maps are on show at the National Museum in Nairobi, having already

been seen in Kisumu. Before that they were exhibited in the UK, Germany and the

USA. At the end if the month, they hit the road to Mombasa.

The sex worker Sheila, quoted at the start of this review, is a single mother

aged 41. Her body map, she tells us, uses black for the colour of her skin, and

pink as an expression of peace.

She also writes: " It helped me to accept myself and be proud of who I am, which

helped me to deal with discrimination and stigma. " She offers us this advice,

from the front line: " Avoid having unprotected sex. Life is hard and with HIV it

is even harder. "

Lucas, who runs a handcart business from Kibera, was diagnosed as HIV positive

in 2005. His wife died of Aids but to his amazement, he has since been tested

negative.

He drew a head with an open skull, " to show what is inside, " and detailed the

brain to demonstrate that it controls his body.

I thought at first it might be interesting to see what professional artists

could do with a similar technique of self-examination. But then I thought again.

For what these body maps lack in draughtsmanship (just about everything) and

painterly technique (absolutely everything) they more than make up for in

honesty and visceral force.

Even professional artists would have trouble equalling the way they burn on the

canvas and, in any case, every work by a serious professional is or should be a

body map in itself, revelatory and an exploration of the soul, whether presented

as a landscape, portrait or a bowl of flowers.

Our Bodies, Our Stories a fine exhibition that shines light on people we might

find it convenient to ignore yet who live among us and are part of our wider

family. Ask not for whom the bell tolls. Make time to see the show.

Another exhibition that repays a visit is that of kanga at the old PC's House in

Nairobi at the Uhuru Highway-Kenyatta Avenue junction.

It has been extended until the end of November and is both a joy and an

inspiration.

Called Kanga Stories, the Cloth that Reveals, it traces the history of the kanga

through 2,000 years of cultural interchange to the middle of the 19th century

when the Portuguese brought printed head squares to East Africa.

T hese were stitched together to make the first kanga as we know them today...

defined here as cotton cloths with matching borders and a central motif bearing

a proverb.With more than 100 kanga on show and interactive areas for adults and

children, it is a fascinating show, told through the kanga themselves and the

printed stories of people who have seen them, worn them and sold them.

Their variety is amazing. It would be possible, for instance, to form a

fascinating collection of those used for marketing (Ariel and Royco are examples

shown) or, say, those made specially for election campaigns.

There is scope too for a group featuring portraits of famous people. Examples

would include Barak Obama, and Jesus Christ.

Colourful, creative, endlessly inventive with their pointed proverbs used to

convey messages when a conversation would be considered too direct kanga embody

East African culture in their texts, images and use.

They provide, as this exhibition highlights so clearly, a common thread that

helps to unite the diverse peoples within East African society.

This exhibition was fun to visit and the most painless and entertaining history

lesson I have had for a long time.

http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/