One On One with Anthony Wakaba

Kenya Tue 20-02-2007

One On One with Anthony Wakaba
By Anthony Kaminju

ARtist Anthony Wakaba

From first class globe trotting to selling empty beer cans to sleeping in the streets, staying in a refugee camp and being a security guard at a petrol station hardly sounds like the path taken by a man who would be described as Africa’s Van Gogh. But that is the path that Kenyan born artist Anthony Mutheki Wakaba, 33, has taken to become the celebrated artist he is today – the Van Gogh of Africa.

Today, Wakaba’s work sells galleries around the world including New York and Paris. This year alone, he has invitations from galleries in Switzerland, Thailand, Belgium, India, the US - to exhibit his work. At a recent exhibition in Cape Town, all his work sold on the opening night. When he first arrived in SA he lived on the streets and eked out a living doing menial jobs.

Today, he lives in a mansion overlooking the sea in La Lucia, an exclusive Durban suburb.

"My life has been one of ups and downs," says Wakaba during an interview in South Africa where he now lives. "I have hit rock bottom several times but, I assure you, I have learnt my lessons." It was only in high school, at the Jamhuri high school, that Wakaba discovered his creative talent.

Nurturing his new found talent, he subsequently entered and won several art competitions, including the annual Kenyan National Museum competition.

After finishing school he sketched clothing designs for fun and sewed them up on his mother's sewing machine. Before long, his clothing was in such high demand that he opened a stall at a market where he sold "Wakaba jeans". But early 1998, bored with making and selling clothes and eager to travel and experience other cultures, Wakaba took his profits, about $18,000, and caught a flight to London. From London, he travelled to the US, France and finally settled in Johannesburg.

Given that he had been on a spending spree and had been staying at an expensive hotel since his arrival in South Africa, his money soon ran out. That was the beginning of his spin towards rock bottom. Out of the expensive life he had lived, he was in the streets, without food or shelter for close to two years.

"I sold empty beer cans and bottles to get enough money to buy something to eat," he says. "Life was so hard that I would slice an apple into two pieces, one for lunch and the other I would eat in the evening. I moved to Durban hoping things would improve, but they did not. I still slept on the streets and at the beach."

He later found a job as a guard at a petrol station, earning a paltry R150 per month. "Life was so pathetic for me that I couldn't take a shower for days. I smelled so bad!" he confesses with a hearty laugh. Wakaba also spent time in a refugee camp in Cape Town with people from war-torn countries like Congo and Mozambique.

"A Tunisian man I met while at the camp got me and a few others jobs as tailors in Pietermaritzberg through a contact he had," he says. "I think I'm blessed with the gift of the gab, I easily talked my way into the job by explaining to the owner of the shop how we could double the sales."

Wakaba made true his word of doubling the sales for his employer. He was soon earning R15,000 a month. "I was on my feet again," he says. But it did not last for long as he was hounded out of the company after disagreements with some of his colleagues. He returned to Johannesburg where he found himself on the streets again. But this time he earned some money by selling paintings to Kenyan curio sellers who traded in the city for up to R50 each. Word of his talent soon spread and gallery owners in Johannesburg began seeking him out.

One enthusiast of his work was Mark Craig, who was then owner of an auction house in Johannesburg. He became Wakaba's agent and manager, planning his path to success. Craig now owns Kizo Art Gallery in Durban, where Wakaba's work is exhibited. Wakaba believes the way he works makes his pieces unique, and this is why he is compared to Van Gogh. "I paint using layers. I don't finish my art work in one day; I build on it as days go by. In fact, there are some paintings that came out so well that I want to keep them for myself."

He explains that his work is a blend of realism and abstract. His preferred medium is oil and acrylics on canvas. A painting he did of a Turkana elder, painted as a puzzle, fetched a whopping R60,000. Craig believes that because Wakaba had no formal art training, his work will always be original.

After he saw Wakaba's work for the first time, music director Mbogeni Ngema immediately commissioned him to create portraits for his musical group, The Zulu. There is much to be said about Wakaba’s success in art. Worth mentioning is that he has also sold pieces to American actor Chris Tucker and was one of 39 artists commissioned to collaborate with Nelson Mandela on sketches he drew reflecting his imprisonment on Robben Island.

Wakaba is influenced by the Zulu culture in his new home, and has taken from it the warm and bold colours that are consistent in his work. Wakaba is married to Ayanda, a South African, and they have a three-year-old daughter, Tracy Njeri.

When he is not painting in his basement he spends most of his free time with his family. He is also actively involved in several community projects in his adoptive home, supporting budding musicians to record their music. He still designs clothes, but only for his own family.

Wakaba's dream is to hold an exhibition in Kenya his home country, but he is not sure when this will happen.

Posted By: AfricanColours

skip to top

Your Comments

chris k tuwei: I was excited to see your art at the exbo in the internet

Kariz: Antoh, I'm so happy for you. Amazing artwork! Magrass and Ludz kando.

skip to top

African Artists Portfolios

Stephen Garan'anga is a Mixed Media Artist

Click To View All African Artist Portfolios

Kaafiri Kariuki at the Creativity Gallery

Shades of Time: An exhibition by Kaafiri Kariuki at the Creativity Gallery National Museum of Kenya

Features By Regions

Featured Artist Portfolio

Title: Making Ways
Name: Tabitha Wa Thuku
Country: Kenya
Medium: Mixed media on heavy canvas
Size: 149 X 140 cms
Click here to view