Wednesday 14 February 2018

In their twenties & lighting Dar’s canvas

Painters can present stark reality in magical dress, allowing you to revere what you otherwise can take for granted in landscapes faces or objects. 


Artwork by Abdullah K. Omar,
titled 'Msimbazi' oil on canvas
Pupils are perusing the scene of a street often walked on, often passed by it’s the Msimbazi ‘mwendo kasi’ bus stop in the city centre of Dar es Salaam. Only here it’s almost surreal in this contemporary impressionist painting, so expertly rendered by Dullah Wise a.k.a Abdullah K. Omar. 
Artwork by Innocent Mwaipungu, titled
'A great force in Directing' acrylic on canvas
You look closer and figure there’s her hip, oooh they’re probably siblings and this is their mom. Looking at the cubist painting ‘A great force in directing’ by Innocent M. Mwaipungu you can find yourself transfixed on the spot. As you try to break down its complexity, yes its outskirts could have benefited with less. It’s the centre that displays great talent, in line, emotion & colour composition; aptly conveying its message of power dynamics between parent/guardians and child. 
Photograph by Andrew S Munuwa a.k.a. Drew Shotz of the
boy selling barbecue maize in the city of Dar es Salaam
A boy, couldn’t be more than 16yrs old is selling barbecued maize corn by the roadside, with sunset hues blanketing the traffic. Gawking at this photograph by Andrew S. Munuwa, is nothing to be embarrassed about. His works display such character, like this photograph that viscerally brings you to its scene.  
Recently these three exhibitions in the city of Dar es Salaam explored its cityscape, people & relationships in such a nuanced way that I thought it apt, to bring it to your attention. The ‘mwendo kasi’ painting which is the first depict on canvas in an exhibition, of this city’s relatively new method of transport. Is part of the exhibition ‘Rainy Nights’ that went on since the 23rd of Jan till the 9th of Dec at the Alliance Francais grounds in Dar by Dullah Wise from Zanzibar.
Artwork by Dullah Wise 
Photograph by Drew Shotz
Dullah 27, is so gifted an old soul really, with his impressionist style using oil on canvas, he's our very own young Monet. His 
body of work in ‘rainy nights’ looks at cityscapes of Dar es Salaam & Stone Town in Zanzibar by night, his portrayal of reflections from light & water is just incredible. 

“Last year around May I came to Dar for another exhibition I was featured in. As you know it was the rainy season. When I was coming back from the exhibition hall at night, I was mesmerised by the city. I thought we glorify Paris & London but right here is something special…” Dullah shares with me on the inspiration behind ‘rainy nights’. 

Dullah has been painting professionally for six years now, he was taught through part time schooling at the Old Fort in Zanzibar. 
Artwork by Innocent Mwaipungu
His body of work in this exhibition depicts a very romantic city, with lights that dazzle. Now any resident of Dar es Salaam will tell you romantic, isn’t a word they’d place next to ‘Bongo’ as the city is commonly referred. 

Yet Dullah attempts this impossible and succeeds very well, the only drawback in his exhibition. Is that he was rushed for time with probably a lack of a skilled curator.
He used 2.5 months to complete 30 paintings all of which he showcased at his exhibition! It fared that some paintings here just don’t have the same attention to detail as others and or they appear repetitive in perspective & content.  
The exhibition by Innocent Mwaipungu is the first exhibition from this Tanzanian artist. “I learned to paint from my late father back when I was in primary school, he himself was a painter though he did it more as a hobby. One of my mentors is painter Masoud Kibwana, a year or so ago I met him at Nafasi Artspace, he has really helped me to grow my talent...” Innocent relays in sharing of his background.
Photographs by Drew Shotz
The 27 year old artist has launched himself on the right foot, with this exhibition ‘family distraction’. Which ran at the Goethe Institut offices from the 30th of Jan to the 9th of Feb. 

The contrast between his sombre messages which explores conflicts in family relations; from sibling rivalry, differing faiths between partners to gender violence & child abuse. Married well with his cubist realist style, that gave big faces, big gestures from his subjects. In future he’ll do well to work to better on his proportions, also to ensure there’s focus in each painting so we're not lost in a total riot of style & colour.

Poetry stanza by Loyce Gayo
The last exhibition ‘Mtaani Maskani’ which is still running till next month, at the DARCH centre in Dar es Salaam. Is one which showcases the works of Andrew S. Munwa’s featuring stanzas  from Tanzanian poet Loyce Gayo. 
It was refreshing to see poetry juxtaposed with photography a wonderful caption if any, the placing of the newsstand at ‘mtaani maskani’s entrance is genius. Though again the lack of good curation is seen by the weak display of the pieces. Instead of bunching them together in one alley, they could have benefited from more varied spacing, plus some pieces were falling of the walls.
Andrew’s photography takes us on an enlightening journey of the cities subjects, placing everyday vendors, skateboarders & coffee drinkers in a profound halo. Andrew 23, whose artist name is ‘drewshotz’ is a fresh talent on the block, this is his second exhibition. 
Artwork by Dullah Wise
I caught up with him where he relayed, “I met Loyce at a creative meet & greet called ‘the society’ last year. I also work close from where she lives and we’d take these walks in the evening... We noticed everyday gestures from the daladala stands, to the vendors and thought these are culture emblems... I was really impressed with the turnout, it’s my hope that immortalising these subjects will allow us to honour our urban contemporary culture...” 
Mtaani Maskani certainly gives us good reason to.
Well three exhibition with artists in their twenties a new generation of perspectives, we only hope to see more such exhibitions.
You can follow these artists on Instagram @DrewShots, @DullahWise @loyceG @i_malleey 

This article was first published in the east african newspaper here http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/magazine/Tanzania-young-artists-/434746-4298744-nw881lz/index.html

Artwork by Innocent Mwaipungu

Artwork by Dullah Wise

Installation in the exhibition 'Mtaani Maskani'
by Andrew Stephen ft Loyce Gayo


Artwork by Innocent Mwaipungu
Artwork by Dullah Wise, oil on canvas




Photography by Drew Shotz
Artworks by Dullah Wise from Zanzibar





Artwork by Innocent Mwaipungu



Photograph by Drew Shotz

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