An homage to Rwanda and Africa
If an Ancestor was to time travel in this modern disorienting world and by some magical fateful moment end up seeing this painting, i want the painting to be a post sign for the person.
A post sign that says to them, You belong; this is Home, You can rest…
Our Ancestors are a part of our internal design as much as our external world.They may not be here physically as we knew them but they never really leave. Always present, not just a part of us, but all around us, part of nature; part of every fragment that makes our world and they are always interacting with us.
So, when the present feels chaotic, quiet your mind and listen. Your ancestors are whispering in your ear…
An homage to the last queen of Rwanda, Rosalie Gicanda.
This was warmly requested by someone who had known her and shared fond memories with her before her tragic murder during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.
Out of respect to their private bond, i did two different versions. One that will stay private and this one that i could share with the world.
An homage to my grandmothers and all Rwandan grandmothers. Resilient and proud women whose eyes saw it all and still remained dignified and graceful. Some I’ve met in real life, for many, we met through stories. They are the monuments in my life, the highest peak of grace, dignity, and compassion that I could ever hope to reach.
Inspired by the beautiful portrait of Emma Bakayishonga,daughter of Yuhi V Musinga and sister to Mutara III Rudahigwa.
Inspired by a young Suri girl photograph.
The Suri are an agro-pastoral people that inhabit part of the West Omo zone in Ethiopia as well as parts of neighbouring South Sudan.
As part of their rituals, female members of the tribe have distinctive clay discs inserted into holes in their bottom lip, which are considered signs of beauty.
Inspired by a photograph of a young Wodaabe woman from Chad .
The Wodaabe or Bororo are a small subgroup of the Fulani ethnic group.
They are known for their beauty (both men and women), elaborate attire and rich cultural ceremonies.
They are traditionally nomadic cattle-herders and traders in the Sahel, with migrations stretching from southern Niger, through northern Nigeria, northeastern Cameroon, southwestern Chad and the western region of the Central African Republic.
Inspired by a vintage photograph of a young girl from the Songhai Empire .
The Songhai Empire was a large and powerful West African civilization from about 1450-1600, centred on the middle reaches of the Niger River in what is now central Mali and eventually extending west to the Atlantic coast and east into Niger and Nigeria.
Inspired by a vintage photograph of a Fulani woman from Guinée.
The Fulani, or Fula People, or Fulɓe are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region.
The Fula people are traditionally believed to have roots in peoples from North Africa and the Middle East, who later intermingled with local West African ethnic groups. As an ethnic group, they are bound together by the Fula language, their religion (Islam), history and culture.
A nod to the cult of Ryangombe.
Inspired by a Samburu warrior photograph.
The Samburu people are a semi-nomadic people that live in the Samburu County of Northen Kenya.
The Samburu people are closely related to the Maasai tribe who also live in East Africa. Both these tribes speak a similar language, derived from Maa.