I was born in Hamburg, Germany and came to Africa when I was one year old.
I grew up in Kenya and due to my father’s love for Safaris was regularly out in the bush from an early age. In those early years my love for nature and Africa was born. Much to my parent’s dismay my main activity on those Safaris was to collect all manner of insects and take them along, as I considered our car to be an “insect bush-taxi” - and you never leave friends behind.
The love for Nature and Africa has stayed with me since these early years as my main source of inspiration, and with it the hope to preserve and share some of it through my distinct artwork.
“What do you see when you look? There is usually more than you think. Look closely and marvel at all there is…”, a universe of colour and texture to be inspected, turned and looked at from different angles and back again. Look closely at the small details and realise how much is looking back at you and makes you wonder about your purpose. Throw in a bit of India with lots of Africa, maybe some European spice? Pick what feels right, add a bit more, play around with it and create your own beautiful universe!
Even though I initially trained in Germany as a Silversmith with an emphasis on tableware and vessels, a chance meeting brought me back to painting a few years ago.
To quote a wonderful friend, who said this about my artwork; "You will easily notice how she combines her knowledge of silversmithing with the use of acrylics and various different materials within her paintings. This is what creates her distinctive style of flowing, bold colours and textures combined with graphic elements" and I do hope it holds true :)
Another magical coincidence brought Wakanyi and me together and we have collaborated to publish two books, "The Twelve Days of Christmas Safari" and "The Legend of the Dancing Baobab Tree". And we hope to publish more under 'The African Folktales Project', in order to preserve the African Stories told through the generations.
I have had several exhibitions in Kenya and Uganda, both of my silverwork and paintings, often along with other renowned regional artists. My paintings can be found in Kenya, Mauritius, Botswana, New Zealand, U.S.A, England, the Netherlands and Finland as well as Germany.
