A young woman lying on an antique Swahili daybed, on the rooftop of a building that once functioned as coconut oil factory in Lamu, Kenya.
Graphite on Paper, 42.5 x 59 cm
Pole, Pole (Slowly, Slowly) (2017) recalls the Swahili expression that is often exclaimed as a reminder to someone that might be acting with excessive urgency. ‘Slowing down’, allows one to live in the moment and to appreciate their surroundings. In Lamu, Kenya, the oldest still inhabited town in East Africa, vehicles are banned. The locals traverse the tiny alleyways by foot, or, as is the case in this image, on the back of one of the thousands of donkeys that roam freely throughout the old town.
Graphite on Acid Free Paper, 59.4 x 42.5 cm
'Utakula Kwa Macho' (2016) depicts a quarry in Lamu, Kenya where men continue the laborious undertaking of loading their dhows with stone blocks for building. One of the boats portrayed here has a message inscribed on its wooden beam, that translates to; ‘eat it with your eyes’. Interestingly, the ‘eye’ functions as a metaphor in many cultures to connect ‘seeing’ with ‘awareness’.
Graphite on Acid Free Paper, 59.4 x 42.5 cm