Michael Musyoka (Kenyan, born 1986)
Offerings of the Same Things lV, 2018
Signed ‘MikeMusyokA. ‘18’ (lower middle)
Acrylic on canvas
110 x 110 cm
Ksh 180,000–280,000
(US$ 1,650–2,550)
Sold Ksh 328,720
Provenance: direct from the artist
Michael Musyoka’s compositional style borrows from street art and matatu graffiti in Nairobi, local signwriting styles and graphic novels. The urban landscape of Nairobi, particularly public spaces, and interactions between people within these spaces are the focus in Musyoka’s work. Legal, religious and moral constraints to individual agency are of particular interest, as is the relationship between public officials and members of the public. Depicting exchanges, transactions and everyday compromises made as a means to survive as we move through the world, Musyoka offers an apt, if suspicious, look at the construction of society in present day Nairobi.
Musyoka, a graduate of the Buruburu Institute of Fine Art in Nairobi, began his artistic career as a sign writer and mural and backdrop painter for school productions in Kenya’s national music and drama festivals. His work has developed through experimentation with various techniques and stylistic approaches, including painting, collage and illustration. He has participated in several group exhibitions in Nairobi, as well as shows in internationally. Musyoka is a founding member of the Nairobi-based Brush Tu Artist Collective based in Buruburu, Nairobi.
This painting can be hung in any direction.