Kenya: Exploration, Expression of Nature, Sensuality and Femininity

Gilbert Ouma, who works at the Exhibits department at the National Museums of Kenya, has been using the current Covid-19 lockdown to work on a range of paintings where he explores nurture, femininity, nature and sensuality.

Ouma enjoys nature and his wildlife illustrations express cherished moments between animals. Heavy Heart is a monochrome painting of two young elephants standing head to head, their trunks twisted around each other in a loving way.

Mother Tongue features a pair of giraffes bending down to nuzzle the face of a young giraffe. The warm colours of the image add to the affectionate feelings captured here. Some of Ouma’s nature paintings have been used on greeting cards in Europe.

A collage-like painting of an elephant drinking from a large red rose is actually a statement about femininity. His woman series are nude artworks where the seductive subjects are drawn with curvy thighs and voluptuous backsides.

Ouma’s art also explores aspects of time and place, and I find these ones the most interesting. Transition is a thought-provoking piece done in quick brushstrokes and rich red colours. It features a Maasai woman in the foreground of a dreamy scene of Nairobi city and in the background is the outline of a woman painted in white. Looking from one person to the other, you can imagine the white figure transitioning into the cultural female.

The semi-abstract Journey’s End II also stays on the cultural theme. Here, a Maasai man in traditional garb walks through an indistinct landscape of earthy colours. The illustration anticipates reaching a goal.

Scenes of rainy streets often arouse a grey mood and Ouma achieves this in the painting Come Rain or Shine. It shows a boy riding a bicycle in the rain while holding a large umbrella and moving past large windows.