AfricanColours - "ALL FOR LOVE" An Exhibition of paintings by Jacob Wachira Ezigbo

Kenya Mon 10-12-2007

"ALL FOR LOVE" An Exhibition of paintings by Jacob Wachira Ezigbo
By a Correspondent

Born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1975, Jacob Njoroge Wachira cannot recall a time he was not drawing or painting. One of his favorite things to do was to create brightly colored murals on the sides of the houses in Mathare.Mathare is a gigantic slum in Nairobi where Jacob was born and spent his childhood.

Jacob has traveled about the world yet he has chosen to return to Mathare where his lives today. Jacob adopted the name Ezigbo (ezigbo- meaning “the good one” from the Ibo community of Nigeria) he signs all of his painting Jacob W. Ezigbo.

After completing primary and secondary school Ezigbo went on to study graphic design at The Kenya Polytechnic in Nairobi.

In 1998 Ezigbo made the decision to become a full time painter and joined the Kuona Trust, which opened up his world to many new challenges and experiences.

In 2002 Ezigbo won The Best Artist Awards in Kenya under the Ruth Hunt Wood Foundation. In 2006 this prestigious award provided Ezigbo an opportunity to spend a semester studying and instructing at the University of Kentucky and Somerset Community College.

Ezigbo’s time in the US was time well spent, supporting his growth as an artist through his interaction with artists and faculty of the both the Institutions. At the end of his stay Ezigbo had a solo show at the John Tuska Gallery in Lexington, Kentucky.

Ezigbo has participated in numerous group shows as well as having several solo exhibitions in Kenya, Britain and USA between 2002 and 2007.

Having personal experience of the profound effect art has on society; especially to the development of young children Ezigbo founded Watoto Wa Kwetu in 2004 (Watoto Wa Kwetu is Swahili for children of the neighborhood).

Ezigbo began offering free art workshops to local children from his home in Mathare. Watoto Wa Kwetu became an official Trust in 2006.

The Trust continues to grow today, providing free workshops to hundreds of children.Ezigbo along with several dedicated volunteers offer instruction in painting, photography, film, music, drama and poetry.

When asked were his artistic inspiration comes from, Ezigbo says “My paintings are the only voice which I have, and which I sometimes hide behind, as people who live in Mathare don’t really have a voice. What we have is poverty; we lack health care, education and other basic amenities.

We are at the bottom of the food chain; this means that many people here still dye of treatable sicknesses such as Malaria, TB, and Typhoid as well as preventable sickness such as HIV/ Aids.

Police brutality, ethnic and political violence and corruption is the norm here. Many officials, who are supposed to keep the peace and protect the people, actually prey on the ignorance and lack of education in the area.

There is never a lack of inspiration to paint! It is in the people that I see each day, and the ways they interact with each other that inspire my paintings; Love, romance, politics, and religion have been depicted repeatedly in my work.

As I paint my style changes from abstracted impressionism to figurative abstract. My medium is oil on canvas and mix media.”

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