| TIME & other constructs |
Michael Musyoka - Kenya
Artists’s Statement
Civilization sets us apart from barbarism. Being civilized is accepting rules and regulations that the human society demands to maintain law and order. It is the opposite of being barbarian or savage, yet according to my observation the tendency to barbarism is concealed in all humans.
|TIME & other constructs| is an extension of a previous body of work called |Yearning|, raising concerns about rules and regulations which limit human freedom. Further explorations into this subject led to the conclusion that time is an even greater construct of human existence, seeing as everything we do is bound by time.
The artworks in this body are meant to spark conversations about conflicts between being a civilized human being and becoming barbarian.
Has civilization brought forward conflicts? Why do we desire to do wrong, or act like savages? What would the law be if not for the scare of punishment? How would our lives be like if we lived in a time when these laws, the Kenyan constitution for instance, weren’t relevant? ……….
- Michael Musyoka, 2019
Artist’s Bio
Michael Musyoka was born in 1986 and raised in Nairobi. When he was young he was fascinated by graffiti on commuter buses and on walls of business premises in his neighborhood, which laid the ground work for his approach to figurative compositions.
In 2009 he enrolled into Buruburu Institute of Fine Arts in Nairobi and after graduation he worked as an illustrator for publishing companies and advertising agencies.
In 2013 he co-founded together with two other artists Brush tu Art Studio, an artist collective in Nairobi.
This collective teamed up on various artistic projects including mural painting and mentoring younger artists.
It marked for Michael also the entry into professional practice which has seen him exhibiting locally and abroad.
He was awarded 2nd prize in the professional artist category of Manjano Art Competition in 2015 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Michael lives and works in Nairobi.
From this Exhibition
Publications & Press
The East African