Juwarra, art and Africa

Life, art and peace - this was written on a T-shirt of one guy in airplain from Nairobi to London

When I first came to visit my university after return to Estonia, one of my drawing teachers asked if my art will get some African patterns to it now. She asked it because my bachelor degree graduation thesis was on theme of Estonian artists who have visited exotic cultures, asking if and how it changed them. Under exotic cultures I basically considered anything different from Euro-American culture. And although you can say that globalization has taken its toll and that even life and cultures in Africa has lost a lot when compared with our general dreams about exotics. But then again, there is still a lot of originality. This part of the world, if not dancing after its own drum, is still dancing differently than we here. We find a lot that colonialism and globalism has pushed into their culture and living style, but it is still not the same world as this here. It still is exotica.
Anyway yeah, so I asked in my thesis how such travels affect the art of our artists. What ideas and values artist (artist as mostly person open for such new things) may find in that way. So, my teacher wanted to know how I see it now about myself. I said to her that we’ll wait and see. Actually I never talked anything about patterns, although yes, you can understand word patterns in many ways and basically might find patterns everywhere – not only on local garments, but also in nature, as in living rhythm, etc. Two things I can say. First is that now I would probably write much better thesis and second, that my art certainly is/will be different. Maybe even not so much in form and style, but much more in ideology and essence. It has to be, as I feel that I’m different after such mighty experiences.
Yes, I have plans for new art. I have more certain thoughts about what I seek with my art than ever before. And as I plan also to portray something that I have found to be Africa or at least Kenya, I imply that I got something from Kenya that is different from what I felt and knew before.

Generally my art is characterized by love of details, from time to time you may say even that there is so much details that it is hard to grasp it as a one piece. Also, usually it is self-evident and definitive (showing that I clearly don’t carry the ideologies of post modernists). Shapes are concrete, but often distorted from realistic view or simplified – it haven’t been my goal to achieve realism, and then sometimes in contrary I make things weird. I really like to play with colours and shapes. If colours are present, then these are vivid and mostly painted in that way that brushstrokes couldn’t be seen. I have held art noveau, art deco, surrealism (especially pop surrealism) and even sometimes naivism as my ideals. So my intent was to do something clear by colours and shapes but complexed by details or lot of content. My art has also become more and more conceptual. Well, I will never do something that we know as pure conceptual art, but still, idea and even text have great role in my art. This all together has likened my art with decorative artistic posters or comics art. So has also been said to me by others, and I even like this idea. But still, I have never tried to become pure styled decorative painter or wanted to make just comics drawings. I like to mix styles and try new things. I like the medium of paintings, but I also like when it carries the simplicity and joy of comics art. I like big ideas, but don’t want to get my audience too serious.
Yet, lately I have felt that I should make my art, especially paintings, maybe even sculptures more serious. Also it is possible that I will do little bit more realistic things in near future, but again, I won’t go into classical realism. More likely I’m heading for realistic romantism or pop art.

But still, how living in Africa had an effect on what I’m trying to do in art now? Actually I would say that I just got more courage and now more than ever I feel that for doing good art, I need freedom – freedom from everything that people expect from me. Also, I have found even more cause to paint very colourful and vivid pictures and at the same time use text even more as a main part of artwork. I think conditions in Estonia are not good for my creativity. Life and even surroundings are so uniform here. Too much thinking about everything. And too few sensations and movement. Even abundance of flowers just made my mind go wild in Kenya. This world there is crazy and that is exactly what I need for my art. For now I have some inspiration and ideas that I took with me from Kenya, but basically I feel that I simply need to return there. It is just so amazing, what you feel there every day. Africa is the world of feelings, and when you feel a lot, then you never have problem finding will to do something, neither have you problem finding themes for painting, writing, singing, whatever else, if you always do something.
One thing that I must say, is that in Kenya, there is not much to talk about art. Yes, Kenya has probably had greatest artists that have gained fame in Africa, but their art is not very diverse. Moreover, you can not find much on streets and among simple people. Yes, they make some handycraft, most of what is meant to be sold to tourists. But you can’t find that people would decorate their home with something ownmade. You can’t find houses that have such art on the walls as I saw from the photos of my friend who visited Nigeria. Basically I can say that there is no folk art in Kenya. Maybe you can find something noteworthy somewhere, but even then it is highly possible, that it has not been created with even nearly that kind of intent as you would hope. Generally people don’t know anything about art. Children in school are raised in such way that doesn’t support creativity. So, life in kenya is very good for expressivnes and creativity, but they are already from the childhood raised so that they simply don’t have it in them to start doing some art. But then again, when some locals see what you can make, what is possible, something really artistic, then they are so interested and exalted. Even in my stay I met one guy who really wanted to learn about art from me. It would be really great to help people there to become more creative and more self expressing through art in their every day life.