SANAA Magazine

SANAA

SANAA

where creativity lives

where creativity lives

12

pg.

Headline Story:

‘How Not To Deal with your Life Problems’ Debby Daily 16

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SANAA PUBLISHERS

Memory Lane 10

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ISSUE 1

Mr. Insync 8

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FEBRUARY 2020

Embrace Our Warmth, More Magic is Coming

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Editor’s Note “...delving into the backstories of the fine artists....”

Written & designed by a team of dedicated authors & designers, Sanaa Magazine is the first Zine series founded by the Art students taking Graphic Design as a major unit in university. The zine was founded with the purpose of delving into the backstories of the fine artists in the Bachelor of Arts course; generally seeking to find out their inspirations, motivations, processes as well as their challenges, as far as their art is concerned. ~Sayankah Genoh ~Chief Editor

CONTRIBUTORS

JANE ABIYA; MARIA WAMBUI; JOHN MARTIN, DOUGLAS ELISHA; AROME BRIAN; MAE KIARIE; SHEM ALVIN (MODELS) // RICHARD OCHIENG’; JOSHUA THUKU; WAMBUI BOI (WRITERS) // TONY KALU; JEFFERY ALLUVISIA; STEVE OMOLLO (RESEARCHERS) // DEBBY CHEROP; FREESIA QUEEN; RITA BYARUGABA; NAOMI OUMA ACHIENG’ (PUBLISHERS) // FRANK FRANJE; MOART MBOYA; KEN NGATIA; SAMUEL GITONGA (MARKETING) // ERIC MOTCHEZ; JOSEPHINE KABURA; CHRISTINE NUNGARI; JOLI STEPHANIE (CONSULTANTS)

My Oddities in a Nutshell

BELLA

Mr. Insync TONY Language Intimacy A Life Lesson

MARIA

SAYANKAH

Meet The Sanaa Team Memory Lane

STAFF ELISHA

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

BOI

This Side Up

AROME

Debby Daily

DEBBY

Dessert is Served

VARIOUS ARTISTS

My Oddities in W

“I do love myself not in a conceited narcissistic way but more of I have accepted myself and who I am. Flaws and all and it takes big guts to do that, in this twentieth century we live in...”

hen I was nine years old I realized that the world is not always a safe place as my parents put it out to be with the stories they told and the channels that they put on for me to watch. My mother held my sweating hand as we ran away, barefoot, from the masked men who threw rocks at our windows and hit our fences with sticks. Young as I was, I knew that they were there to kill us, not because we had wronged them in any way but because the tribe we came from offended their moral high grounds. All that mattered at the moment was running and never letting my mother’s hand go. The male species of our house, my b\father and brother had gone to the motherland so we did not have any other option than to run. The good thing about that night is that we found shelter and the Samaritan who sheltered us gave us food and a place to sleep, among all the chaos going on in our small town, he found it in his heart to take a woman and her two daughters without expecting anything in return.

Mr Chege, that is how he introduced himself, gave me a book to read, The River Between by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. the adrenaline still flowing through my body was making it difficult to sleep. I didn’t understand much of the book or most words are written in it but in my tender age, I understood the love Waiyaki had for Nyambura by the time I finished the story.

Till this day I have read this book more than ten times, It took me a month to finish the book, by this time everything was back to normal, we were safe and we were at home but Mr Chege and his family had become close to our hearts. When I took back the book he gave me another, I think he was more excited for me to read them than I was in reading them for myself.

Hence then, my passion for books started, always buried in between the pages of the book that is why I can never pick a favourite book among all the thousands of books I have read, I get too involved in each story, I become one with the characters. My mother says if I wasn’t an artist by heart I would be a writer.

I love writing. Writing words, small things

6 February 2020

happening in my life, notes and letters, especially letters. In this day and age there are those people my age who have never gotten a letter, let’s exclude the high school lie letters the boys and girls who were pumped with confused hormones sent to each other. I am talking about a handwritten letter done in a good fill paper and tells you a story about the sender’s life, emotions and words. There is something about touching the same paper the sender touched the intimate privacy between the two of you and it doesn’t have to be a letter written from one lover to another, it can be between friends or a family member. I do not want to get to the point in my life where ill be scrolling through some social media message

a

NUTSHELL point to get a remembrance of a friendship lost or a memory long forgotten. I still get letters from my best friend, she is my pen pal, yes we still talk on the phone but you can never remember what they said months later.

I guess this does make me an old soul, the book reading, the letter writing, quilting, crocheting and knitting and I can proudly say I do not enjoy most things people in my generation enjoy. My brother once pointed out to me, “ it’s either you were born before your time or you’re a reincarnation of some eighteen-century maiden.” Sometimes I think what he said is true. I can sit alone and never get bored, I can enjoy having a conversation with Mr Chege who can barely stand for more than five minutes, he suffers from dementia now so he still remembers me as a young girl. He keeps telling me I am too tall for my age. I hoard things I should let go because they hold a sentimental value to me. I want to tell my kids one day, “you see this, I was given by…” even if its wrapper.

There is always a story behind something. I still have the chocolate wrapper I was given by an old lad I liked once pressed between the pages of one of my novels.

My friends know all about my weirdness, they have come to understand the oddity that is my life, with my habits, the way I talk and wear, my fixation for coloured socks and r-rated t-shirts as I have accepted them the way they are. I do have a small circle of friends, it is hard for a person who is accus-

circle of friends, it is hard for a person who is accustomed to solitude to acquire a large group of friends. The few I have I keep close. They laugh at my perverse jokes and add on theirs, they will hold my hand at the toughest times and they will help me without any expectations. Few people can say that they can trust their friends that much that they have people who accept their oddities.

Being clumsy seems to be instilled in my DNA. I am the houseguest who always breaks something out of nervousness or spills a drink on another by accident or trips on thin air or drops a bag only to spill everything in the bag on the ground.

I also suffer from pediophobia, this is fear of dolls and such. My father analyses it as Freudian dream interpretation where the dolls represent something bad that one happened in our home. I can’t remember what happened and my family doesn’t talk about it, so I never ask. The thing is, I do love myself not in a conceited narcissistic way but more of I have accepted myself and who I am. Flaws and all and it takes big guts to do that, in this twentieth century we live in. to look in the mirror and smile at the person you are inside and out.

I don’t have a secret to it, I just open my heart to myself.

Above: Bella displaying her delightful oddities

Sanaa Magazine

7

MR. INSYNC 8 February 2020

“ Ton integri progra

T

onny Kalu is a graphic designer and an illustration artist all together. He is also a music artist and a barista, he acquired his training from Baristapro Kenya shortly after completing his o-levels. When people ask Tonny Kalu to describe himself, he doesn’t hesitate to say that he is a student of life evolving everyday shaping his future to be just like he visualizes it in his dreams. And when he is asked about his dreams, he said that his dream has always been to become the best version of himself; physically, mentally, and mentally. He was quoted saying, “I dream to be insync.” Hence he identifies himself as Insync sometimes ‘I’.

A few years earlier, before he started studying design, Kalu was an active member of the (PA-K) group, the President’s Award-Kenya group. It was there that he discovered his passion for hiking and turned it into a hobby. The (PA-K) is a program that is sponsored by the president of the republic of Kenya, founded

by His Royal Highness Prince Philip.

Tonny Kalu developed positive life skills and values like teamwork, integrity and consistency from this program and stated that this program has been life changing to him and his peers.

Before he became a designer and a barista, he had dreams from when he was a child. He wanted to become a professional artist in the music industry. However, he did not pursue this field until way after his high school. His close friends, Tone-E, Musv, Ford Axle and Klvn as they go

by their stage names greatly influenced his decision to keep chasing this dream.

Tone-E started a recording studio called High Tide, in his room signing Insync as his first artist. Consequently, Insync and his friends made few steps into the game but surely that was only the beginning.

Insync and his friends encountered issues of copyright and beats rights since they only knew how to make songs and not beats but shortly after Ford Axle came through and sparked a new light upon HighTide. Ford had knowledge on production and together the four started making steps in the right path.

Kalu discovered his passion for design shortly after joining Kenyatta University, in his second year. He credits his close friend Arnold Andy for this. Kalu met Andy at the university during his first week since they shared a mutual friend and it was there where the two started their friendship. Andy is a graphic designer and was doing web design way before joining campus so he shared his knowledge and opened up Kalu’s mind to have an interest for design. With his newly discovered passion, Kalu pooled together his resources and started making album art covers and illustrations. He joined social media and started marketing off his ideas. His instagram handle @_k. alu become his money maker as he would draw illustrations for commission.

During his long break from school, Kalu enrolled for a course on coffee brewing and after sufficient training he earned his

nny Kalu developed positive life skills and values like teamwork, ity and consistency from this program and stated that this am has been life changing to him and his peers.”

certificate as a barista. Barely a week after his vocational training, kalu received various mails offering him jobs as a barista. He had sent his cv with videos of him working attached to some coffee houses and in turn he received three invitations to work. He was employed at KeshKesh coffee house in Westlands, Nairobi and worked for five months before he stopped and decided to return to school.

Currently, Kalu works as a transcriber working from home as he continues with his education at Kenyatta university as a graphic design student, still evolving everyday shaping his future to be just like he dreams it to be.

Sanaa Magazine

9

LANGUAGE intimacy

10 February 2020

“ Together we mingle and require to develop beyond this comfort, learning other dialects which we associate with their origin hence give their prestige.”

A

rather interesting incident happened to me quite recently, it was on a Monday and I was on my way to gather raw materials for one of my crazy assignments. I was on a mission to meet with a rubber and tyre salesperson to try my luck at negotiating for a reasonably sized piece, and of course, I had a friend tag along for added persuasion. The same friend who had inspired that journey plus knew the salesperson. Let us call her Cindy. Now, Cindy had not told me of some vital information or rather had not considered it so. She failed to recommend that I use a local language to ease the interaction. I knowing that I will have to bargain hence opted to equip myself with my strongest language, English. My first impression was…half-full, the owner’s office was a shed made of rusty corrugated iron, tuck back behind heaps of rubber strips and tyres. The rubber strips stuck out of their layers menacing for just a stroke their black soot on my bear denim. Surprisingly enough, the salesperson was clean from tip to sole with his hands gloss of pure melanin. His demeanour earned some credit, and to me swell the assumption that our verses would be in tune.

I began, “Good Afternoon, Sir,” and he, “Afternoon”. Cindy went further to elaborate the situation, briefing us of the expectations. I was to successfully gain a sample of the rubber and in turn gain connections to the salesperson for future trade at a larger scale. So far so good until

I step in for my stance. Latching tight to my intent, I spoke insistently on obtaining a smaller sample before accepting purchases. Looking back, I should have noted the in-verbal language spreading like a virus among the workers. Had I sprinkle a pinch much of salt? The palpable silence choked a few. Whom was I kidding? We watch the owner recalibrate for an answer, “Sorry… what!” Mentally slabbing my forehead for my foolishness, I glared at Cindy. Chances for a fair bargain were beginning to wear. I was to disarm to a softer tongue. Where do I begin? Cindy stepped in for the rescue.

She spotted the appropriate thickness of the ideal size of rubber in need. I examine the sample and it was rather lengthy to fit in my bag without protrusion. Recalling the distance of my journey and visualising a tantalising offer to steal from my open bag, it prompted me to request for cutting services. Then I met the Fundi.

The owner left us at the beckon of the Fundi but without greeting, he staggered towards me. He swayed with the wind as a puff his grime and pungent weed embraced me. “Are you from Kenya?” he asked my double through his hazy vision. He stepped closer. “You understand Kiswahili ama najiongelesha?” He took another step. Cindy stepped to intercede, yet he probed forward. “Where you from?”

There was a brief silence then I realised how close he had advance, his face barely fitting the screen. I scrambled through my thoughts. He finally swayed back to regain balance. My eyes wondered around then

locked onto Cindy. “A student,” I mumbled,” I am a student in university.” He wondered about concluding his lack of interest till he swung himself back round for more action. “Uve-city! Wajua uneeza soma ukose kazi?” then he stared at me. “Mimi sikusoma…” he point to himself and continued,” niko kazini hapa.” “Hakuna wa mbele wala nyuma, lakini kuna wale wabaki nyuma,” His stare got harder. The tension dried my throat. Impulsively, he then began to trail off topic about former presidents and leaders from Uganda, losing track of time. Cindy then prompted the new topic of our rubber and asked him of price for the cutting. “Soo!” He exclaimed as he reached for his tools. “Apana” came our response. He turned to me, “How much you want to give?” I looked at him straight in the eye, and said slowly, “Mba-o!”

Everyone has a language that they resonate in, similar to the fitting shoe that has aged to adapt to your foot size. Sliding your foot, you feel the mould casted from the steps exercised over the years. Unconsciously, our reactions are ever welded with our language, our being. With little effort, we understand our favoured tongue, like water through a sieve. Together we mingle and require to develop beyond this comfort, learning other dialects which we associate with their origin hence give their prestige.

This relation between a person and a language could be described as intimate, differing from person to person linked to their origin or traditional background based on -continued on page 14

Sanaa Magazine

11

How Not to Deal With Y

A Life Les

F

ollowing a hectic month of endless school workload topped with social strains both with a close peer and my ‘then’ relationship partner mid-semester, I became overwhelmed with frustration, worry, fatigue and I really needed a break for my life which seemed to be moving too fast and against me. I was approaching my final semester pin-up and on this particular weekend, my pal and I, who had been engaging in a silent cold war against each other for some time now, eventually erupted leading me to physically distant myself from my friend, a tough pill I had to swallow to barricade the “war” from stepping into greater toxic heights of physical confrontation. At the same time, I was going through a “it’s complicated” phase with my then girlfriend; I had been dumped. The consecutive occurence of these events coincidentally being in the weekend eve was a perfect excuse for me to indulge in a ‘forget-your-problems’ type of spree, one which, for starters, was the first of that nature and as you will come to learn, most definitely, without a doubt, my last. So it all began with those one or two unexpected calls with people asking me, “Are you turning up for tonight? Where are we partying tonight?” and so forth. At the moment, I was staying at friend’s room in my school premise, so I was packing my stuff to head home for the weekend, ofcourse after partying.It didn’t take long before I’d be on my way, headed to Westlands, but not before I relieved myself by pre-gaming with a good old-fashioned ka-quarter of both whisky and vodka; yes,today was that day I was to go all in drink myself away to what the (very very very mysterious) night had to offer. P.S: The drinks were a routine 12 February 2020

thing my rave buddy and I would do, so either of us would buy the drinks for the night at the most local(cheap) store and split the bills and drinks once we’d meet up. But today, I found myself consuming more than my share of the drinks before we even got to meet up. Approx. an hour later and I was in Westlands, linking up with the bois, already tipsy, but conscious of the madness we intended to have. Our pals were performing at this club in support and celebration of their fellow artist’s EP launch and birthday as well, so it was all joy and euphoria, things I deeply but silently needed for the night, basically a “Forget my problems” philosophy, a need that ironically later led to an encounter of problems that I wasn’t about to forget anytime soon..

We stepped inside the club and I from then, I was a wave, flowing literally to all corners of the venue, causing all the trouble the alcohol allowed me to. The few instances I could recall is asking how far my other friend who was performing that night was

from getting to the venue. From there, memory flashes and lapses are all I had. Two and a half hours later,my buddy, bummed out that I drank well into his portion adding he wasn’t ‘there’ yet as much as I was, made us go out & buy another quarter which I gladly indulged in with little to no guilt.

Heading back to the club, we were barricaded from going back in, after much contemplation, amid my pals telling me to sober up, it was concluded that I was apparently the reason for us being frozen from a venue we were inside just a few minutes ago; their argument basis being that I was apparently harassing females in their washrooms and staff in the premise.

Ofcourse vexed and under the influence, I rebelled! I mean, how & why would I bother going into the female’s washrooms? I knew my long hair and particularly the fact that I had my ponytail hairstyle in check that day would evoke an “hmmm…” moment inside my silly altered state of mind but still!Furthermore, why would I bother the staff yet I wasn’t at all interested in buying a thing in the club, if anything, I was the one being harassed into buying drinks I didn’t want to haha. So as predicted, that ended up in a scuffle between one particularly extremely huge bouncer probably twice/thrice my size and I, which ended with myself being tossed almost a street across distance apart. The events following that scuffle remain as vague and mysterious to me to date as I keep on piecing the puzzle with the help of a little narration from my pals.One vivid realisation however I had, waking up in my bed the following day, sentiments I still hold to date, is that indulging in a spree out of bitterness,

Your Problems:

sson

or seeking to numb some pain or dealing(or not dealing) with an issue in the name of forgeting or worse still “drinking my problems away” is a hoax!

Often are times as human beings, & especially artists, we find ourselves in predicaments we wish to never share with anyone and just let them eat us inside because we’re genuises(as some of us would like think of ourselves as far as creativity is concerned). As I learnt from that very gory night, it’s this very action of masking our issues that eventually leads to us uncovering them in a different manifestation. Be it through an addiction, annoying habit, personality trait and overall character shift, all these manifestations become more obvious than we’d expect them to be, especially to our peers. That night, had I talked to someone about what was going on in my mind before heading out, they would prolly have taken some measures to ensure I didn’t lose myself that much. Had I picked up my laptop and done a very violent digital art piece as a means of letting out the sadness that was inside me, I prolly would have come up with something someone else would relate to, and make them feel less alone about their situation. But fact is, I didn’t, which part of it may be credited to us being human (see what I did there). We as artists , often see ourselves in a light that we’re in a higher plane of human understanding and existence as we deal with matters concerning ART, which is no lie but it’s important to be aware of ourselves as very trouble & flawed humans and know that we, just like every other human, need help sometimes and that it helps to talk about it, even if no one seems to understand. Not-continued on page 14

“...but it’s

important to be aware of ourselves as very

troubled & flawed humans

and know that we, just like

every other human, need help sometimes and that it

helps to talk about it, even if no one seems to understand.”

Sanaa Magazine

11

Chief Editor, Sayankah Genoh Having honed several design skills, Genoh has made it his life mission to express himself through design, which exists in everything.

PR Manager, Mercy Atieno Being the happy-go-luckysoul that she is, Mercy is the perfect ‘People’s Person’ that the Sanaa team can’t do without.

14 February 2020

Photographer, Bella McInk Having within her, an exquisite eye for detail, it’s no doubt that we have Bella as our go-to photographer.

Art Director, Ras Himself Dominating under the moniker ‘Ras’, he is no stranger to the art & design world, always remaining consistent with his work.

Sanaa Magazine

15

ME

I got interested in sports and started playing football. During our P.E lessons we would play boys verses girls. Our P.E teacher made the game more interesting by making sure he tied each of the boys’ hands together so that the girls would at least have an upper hand.

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February 2020

MEMORY LANE P

rivileged to be born in a family of four; two sisters and one brother, I have learnt to value my family and those around me. I always respected the efforts my parents put in order for us to be great people in the society. My name is Elisha Douglas Odhiambo. born in the month of August, in the early nineties.

I’m the fourth child in our family. I don’t remember much during the early years of my infant life as I never heard nor asked about it from my parents, and I also don’t have all of prove about it because there weren’t any pieces of prove that I will be proud of, as a history of my infancy life.

The first and foremost important picture of my early childhood that still exist till now in my sub-conscious mind is how one day when I was three years old, my father took us out as a family for dinner at his favorite hotel and ordered for everyone their favorite meals and sodas, then later took us out to the movies. The second picture of my early childhood history, that somehow still influences me, something, that happen during one of the many festival that we had to celebrate according to our custom, is circumcision, and I was given special care by the many guest that came to our house for the celebration that my parents held. On this special occasion, I was freely roaming around sitting on a big ladder made of woods, as I was riding a motorcycle, with a sound of an engine running, yet I don’t know nor had seen any motorcycle yet.

In the month of January, 2001, it is the year when I began to have deep memories that I can still clearly remember until now.

It is the year when I started my schooling days at a small school which was built and named State House Primary School, because of its proximity to State House Nairobi. Whenever the Head of State drove to and from his gates we would watch from our classroom windows. It

became a formality even teachers knew that anytime He passed by, lessons would stop for a moment. Occasionally, the President would visit our school and bring a lot of presents for both students and teachers.

A few years later I transferred to a different school. As they say change is inevitable. I always thought I would never change schools. Life in State House was really nice and easy. The new school I went to, students were bigger body wise.

As time went by I continued to adopt the lifestyle of the school .our school had a really big field so our school would host many games. Be it the district tournament, the zonal or even the provincial.

I got interested in sports and started playing football. During our P.E lessons we would play boys verses girls. Our P.E teacher made the game more interesting by making sure he tied each of the boys’ hands together so that the girls would at least have an upper hand.

Before I knew it, I was in class eight. Preparing to sit for my first national exams.

That meant, after that I was out of primary school and ready to join the big boys in high school. I was so excited to have finished my primary school. I went home to enjoy my two and a half month long holiday. During that time, I would sleep for many hours. Once I woke up, I would prepare my meals, eat and go out to meet my other friends. Then we would go play football in the field till evening when our parents came back home.

A new year began and in the month of February I got my calling letter to join high school. I wasn’t really psyched up because I had heard a lot of stories about form one and what really happened to them. After doing my school shopping buying new uniform and books we left for school. When we reached the gate, we

met close to two hundred other students at the gate waiting for admission as well.

Things went swiftly and by evening I was in my form one class together with other form ones. Good thing I never got to be bullied though we went through the normal routines form ones would go through, doing all the school choirs.

In form two, our school became the national champions in rugby so we got the opportunity to go celebrate our victory in town. Students from our school were seen over the town that day. The hawk-

Above: Elisha sipping very delicious juice ers that day had a very long day because most of them went back home empty after students awarded themselves with their commodities. In form three I joined the school basketball team. Almost every term we travelled for games and tournaments. This gave me an upper hand because I got exposed to the competitive world early. We would win other games and loose in others but we never gave up.

We always went for trainings and continued shaping our skills. Once I joined form four, it was time for books. During the last term, as always all fourth formers began to value the books more seriously.

Everybody sharpening their minds in preparation for the final exams. We did it, -continued on page 14 Sanaa Magazine

17

The Good, The Ba

“...the love I have for my family and how we relate which is usually told to be on another level that is to die for.”

B

eing the only girl in our family has been a blessing in disguise. I am blessed to have three brothers and must admit having to put up with all their shenanigans as we grew has been a struggle. However, living with them has also taught me to be brave and confident enough to stand out for myself no matter the situation at hand.

Mahianyu Wambui is my name and the second born in my family. My parents, are blessed to have four children; Joseph, Wambui, Kim and James. Growing up with them has been a real road rush. Each of them have unique characters. Joseph being the black sheep, Mark being the good angel of the family and lastly James being my mom’s favorite. Well am known for having the chameleon traits in our

18

February 2020

family. With the first born being the black sheep I somehow have the influence of being a headache to the rest and with the third born being the white sheep he somehow impacted the good side of me.

My elder brother would always be harsh and mean even on small matters while on the other hand my younger brother would be helpful and kind. I mean, who would dink all the juice from the juice box and replace it with water? His teachers would always complain about his homework and especially the handwriting. On the other hand, my younger brother would be very helpful in chores and in school the teachers loved him. The youngest one would just watch what was happening. I have adjusted to doing most of activities loved by the male gender like playing

video games and sports. In school I was known for playing basketball and football.

My parents would by us car toys me being included and the same would apply to the clothes too. I would feel comfortable interacting with the boys rather than girls.

Most of my home mates were boys too and my social life revolved around the male gender. My high school life has been smooth mostly due to the protection I get from my elder brother and must admit getting attention from all my brother has been enjoyable and comforting.

Being the only girl in the family and living with boys has taught me to be harsh and courageous. Learning to not entertain nonsense from people has been a thing for me. Most of the times I find myself doing things an extra mile. When I got to

ad & The Ugly to the university, that’s when I learnt life is challenging from all angles commencing from financial aspect where one has to keep up with the economy of this country and at the same time ensure that one is focused in academic sector to attain their dreams. I had to find a source of income early enough in order to sustain my financial goals at the same time improve my lifestyle as a woman. I invested on a small scale baking business and so far so good I do not regret on the decision I made on the business idea even though maintain a business is challenging where at time the loss can be discouraging. I also ventured in doing art works especially ceramics where I got to learn more about clay and its properties. Somehow the two are related in terms of the production and the decoration aspect. Being the only female majoring in ceramics in my academic year has been of great importance in terms of understanding how special I am and of course proud of myself since the course is unique and its time consuming. I have learned to be patient with everything it entails and being smart in it.

we relate which is usually told to be on another level that is to die for. My family is all I have and will always be all I have and cannot be taken for granted.

Struggle for the little things at home from my tender age has made me ready for greater things ahead no matter the challenges yet to be faced, risks to be taken and the lessons to be learnt. Am humbly grateful for my brothers especially the elder one who has taught me to be independent and also to defend myself even if my height is a bit physically challenged and people tend to diminish my efforts.

It is to my added advantage of being the only girl that has molded me to be unique, brave, courageous as I have lived with my brothers. Even though they made my life a bit difficult, they also helped me in my growth of understanding who I can become and what I can do and I am forever grateful for them all together with my parents.

They say blood is thicker than water well in my situation that may be an understatement because no one can understand the love I have for my family and how

Sanaa Magazine

19

THE SKIN CAN

witch to Airtel & get what you pay for

WHY BITE WHEN YOU HAVE THE FLESH?

#GetWhatYouPayFor

B

THIS

ill Gates claims that he always tries to find a lazy person to do a difficult job. Why? Because a lazy person will look for an easy way to do it. I am a lazy but highly smart and creative artist, based in Nairobi, Kenya, I’m a self-taught painter, though am currently studying BA in Fine arts at Kenyatta University. I explored abstract paintings with an element of geometry and a contempary African vibe, “it’s been a joy to discover my painting abilities in my years at Kenyatta University.”

I usually work in a detailed manner, mostly with the human figure as the main subject. However after visiting a recent contemporary art fair I noted that the works I encountered with a floral motif were only by female artists, I then started working with mandala patterns and floral aspect in my paintings.

I am no Mahatma Gandhi or Steve Jobs, but I am certain that my degree will become my ticket to a better tomorrow.

I want to become a renowned artist in the field of graphic design, painting and sculpture. I study hard and devote my free time to reading scholarly books and watching documentaries.

I do not remember much of my early childhood, but my mom said that I was a very active, curious, and communicative child. I would ask dozens of questions each minute, even without waiting for the answers. I suppose this is why my parents offered me books and educational movies as early as my third birthday.

In my newest body of work am exploring through the eyes of different woman characters, the various fears and dark emotions that they have in the deepest recesses of their mind. These women are left alone with these feelings and fears that we ourselves try to forget and try to bury.

Born on the 16th December 1993, my formal art education began in 2013 with a two year course Diploma in fine arts at the Kenyatta University. After completing the course, am currently doing a four year

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February 2020

Bachelors of Arts in Fine Arts at Kenyatta University.

I participated in my first group exhibition in 2010, and in the following year, I won the nomination for the Best New Artist at the NAPAHICA, held at Our Lady of Mercy High School in Nairobi.

My work depicts the ordinary African women i see and relate to personally The women are always have a kanga head gear or afro, beaming luxuriously, and I find them ‘more interesting’. I always say, ‘Women are the fabric of African society.

If a woman is poor, the next generation is also poor: how well women are doing is a barometer of the health of the society.’

Though I work well with watercolors, I prefer working with acrylics because it gives me ample freedom to manipulate water and colors on paper to create light hearted paintings. Contrasting the subject from the background is a style I have come to embrace especially in my mandala paintings. My attraction to this style is due to the fact that it tends to clarify the subject in relation to its environs far and near.” Between 2015 and 2019 I began exploring new areas in animation and community art, using my creative skills -

SIDE

UP to pass awareness information on social issues and equipping youth and community groups with life sustaining skills such as recycling waste to art.

All the while I continued to develop my painting skills.

From 2019, I continued to experiment in this line of work moving in to interior decor and architectural design. Today my conceptual sculptural technique embraces minimal form while exhibiting maximal content and can be seen in various homes and installations for indoor sites as well as outdoors. I also produce eye-catching pieces of art deco that feature romanticized compositions of the Kenyan landscape and culture. These i paint in homes. It is with this experience that I took up part in learning photography as co curriculum activity.

My photography work focuses on themes of Afrofuturism in culture, identity, and fictional narratives. I have been called by some friends “a master at creating alternate black universes.hehehhe

~ Arome caught up in his flex zone

My path to photography began through a failure. In 2019 I was still studying for his Bachelors in Fine arts. Then I failed my one theater unit in my second year, that’s when a friend mentioned works by Mutua Matheka and I took and interest because his works inspired me to venture into a new media of expression Am completely self-taught, relying heavily on online tutorials and research to build my skills in photography. My primarily works with my smartphone camera (Motorola xt1650) and Adobe Lightroom.i also rely heavily on Photoshop.

~ Arome caught up zikiwa zimenice

Ispirations of people of color through art, music, fashion ,and just tell a different narrative about the continent.”

I wish for my artwork to be featured by big commercial brands, including Vogue, Marie Claire, Coke, Afro Punk, and BBC and to be commissioned to create original artwork for the films and television all across Africa and the world.

~ Arome caught up with exam pressure

Artist Malick Sidibé is one of my African heroes in art.

Sanaa Magazine

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DEBBY DAILY

“I love me some quiet time, just looking out the window seeing people walk around, possibly with different thoughts running through their heads.”

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February 2020

D

o we ever really know who we are or we figure it out as we go through the motions of life? As I do some soul searching I hope I one day get to a point I’d definitely be self aware or ‘woke’.I’m one person who would love to have everything figured out before I embark on something, but that’s not how’s usually works out. We’re constantly faced by obstacles that force us to adapt. Yes, I believe self awareness is a dynamic process that I’ll be able to grasp sometime.

I love me some quiet time, just looking out the window seeing people walk around, possibly with different thoughts running through their heads. That’s something theraputic for me. I’d freak out if I knew someone is always looking at me but that’s something out of my control, I’d better not know. As a student, my whole life basically revolves around my earphones, my playlist and my notebook where I pen down random thoughts. The moment I get out of house, I put on my earphones and just like that, I travel to another world depending on the song that I am listening to. Most of the time I always just have one song on repeat. A song that defines my mood for that day or just some song that I just can’t seem to get out of my head like Fernando by Cher and Andy Gracia.It’s not all downhill, I have my upside too. In as much as it might lie more towards luck I believe that everytime I go with my gut in a sticky situation it happens to work out, I mean what are the chances that you’d save yourself some sweat if you go with your little head voice or instincts when you’re at crossroads with yourself.

I really like quiet spaces though, I believe I thrive more in quiet environments. Most of the time actually I normally just have my earphones on with no music. It gives me the illusion that I’m in a quiet place. Making friends is hard for me, wat’s mmore comfortable than living in your own bubble. It’s not as scandalous as it sounds, I get to do most if not all thr things my friends on the other side of the spectrum (extroverts) do. I’d perfectly fit in a different century, probably the 20the or 19the century, reason is I feel like I’m an old soul - old music, that’s timeless - I can’t get enough of.

In as much as my personality might sound appealing, I am nothing close to perfect, I have my own flows, but that’s something I have embraced and willing to put in the work to change because I feel like that is what humanises us in the end - our weaknesses. I might have a problem focusing over long periods of time, my mind wanders after I’ve hit my limit. It’s not that I’m downplaying it but I think that’s my creative power. It hasn’t brought me any major problems, already not yet, fingers crossed. I can say my biggest fears so far is not having a plan. A plan for my future phase in life, for the next day or even on how I’ll tackle my weekly Above: Debby striking them with killer poses assignment. There is always just some comfort I get when I know I have a layed out plan. Most times actually when I loose focus and drift out of reality, I’m always just making plans.

I dont know what it is about me and patience but I tend to get unhealthily uneasy when faced with pressure or just social anxiety. I blow things out of proportion and create strings of self generated problems that mostly have no basis. I also get passive aggressive when I’m stressed out and I hate it because I normally let it out on my friends, not intentionally though. l Overtime after reading ‘Visual Intelligence; The Art of Perception’ by Amy E. Herman I’m gradually getting around this and will hopefully get to the epitome of it.

It’s not all downhill, I have my upside too. In as much as it might lie more towards luck I believe that everytime I go with my gut in a sticky situation it happens to work out, I mean what are the chances that you’d save yourself some sweat if you go with your little head voice or instincts when you’re at crossroads with yourself.

So who am I, who are you? The thing is I don’t know who I am in a definite sense. I’m not confined to a definite shell but I’m pretty much aware of the things that constitute me - my strengths, my weaknesses, my friends, my thoughts and everything that is related to me.

I hope I achieve the uttermost self awareness but that is not technically possible in relation to the variations and ever changing angles of my life. My name is Debby and this is my daily awareness journey.

Sanaa Magazine

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Dessert is here!

We couldn’t leave you hanging! Indulge in the last segments of the juicy articles you didn’t get to finish reading below:

Memory Lane, Continued from page 12 -passed it and got good grades to join campus.

A year later, I joined the university for my diploma in Fine Art. University life was different from high school life. More freedom, no uniforms, no prep times and no prefects. We were literally on own. If you screwed up, you screwed up on your own.

Language Intimacy, Continued from page 8 -the language and eloquence of their speech. Certain languages have been branded with attribute hence presumed be retained by its speakers. An immediate language is English, one that has not fully been embraced and is highly correlated with the ‘Mzungu’, that is, privileged. Most people, especially Kenyans have established a habit of classifying persons who have a strong tendency of self-expression through English, shunning them as ‘posh’ and of a higher status.

It may take time for people to cut off the callus of judgement with the languages we practice.

Striping our blindfolds, exposing minds, I believe we will get there.

A Life Lesson, Continued from page 14 -and know that we, just like every other human, need help sometimes and that it helps to talk about it, even if no one seems to understand. Not implying it’s easy, But it’s possible.

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February 2020

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