This must be the reason I started this blog, to show off my images of great artist friends from Kenya. I love these guys: Maasai Mbili is what they call themselves, though all are not represented here. Standing across from their 2-story base in front of what they have claimed as The Ruins Dept because they are officially "slum dwellers" based in Kibera, Kenya's largest slum and one of the biggest in Africa. Their job in beautifying the slum comes easy to them because their spirits are beautiful. Left to right are Solo 7, then the founder of the ground, Gomba Otieno, then Chakara, Stevo Irungu and finally, Mbuthia Maina. Long story about them which i won't go into now, but i am feeling great affinity for Gomba right now as he is 'stranded' in Vienna, having been 'discovered' by wazungus as a wonderful artist with a great sense of humor and charm. He writes on Facebook that he misses the smelly, overcrowded, bustling, noisy, dirty slum life of Kibera, and i feel with him. I miss Nairobi too and hope to get back there soon. In the meantime, i will see how to share my images and my writings on these incredibly imaginative Kenyan artists.
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