THE ESSENCE- AN EXHIBITION ON REDISCOVERY

 ‘The Essence’ is not just a new alphabet that Dr. Anne Ntinyari Mwiti is trying to invent but it is her discovery of authenticity, identity and self-actualization. Dr. Anne Ntinyari Mwiti is not only speaking for herself but desiring that we take a step back and reflect on our individual and collective identities. 

'The Essence' exhibition in May 2024 at Alliance Francaise opened up a reflection on origin, identity, and culture. With an array of works on display, Kenyan artist Dr. Anne Ntinyari Mwiti sought to interrogate, the past, present and future and how they play at an individual level. Conceived as a basis of her research three years ago, the Kenyatta university don brought a collection of paintings, embroidery and knitwear to interrogate what she calls her multiple identities.  

The work on display took us on a journey of language and culture. From the artist’s point of view, the work navigates through her multiple heritage and identity. It traverses through several generations; Ameru, Maasai and Ethiopian. Art is a language on its own and in Anne’s work, Language exudes a new alphabetical invention. This invention is in the form of 35 symbols which attempt to unite her mixed identity into a new language and form of writing. The language is her unique identity, her home and her own world. It is what identifies her beliefs and personality and shapes her interaction with the world thus redefining her culture from her rich heritage. 

Through the alphabet, Anne shows how culture is dynamic. From her generation and with the colonial interruption, Anne’s work wants to stand out as a true independence that borrows from the past, to live the present and thus shape the future. From this display, one wonders why there is so much conflict within individuals. That art speaks about uniqueness which is a part of the entire whole. It thus breeds harmony against so much conflict. It begs for a rebirth of understanding in the wake of so much conflict.

The alphabet can be viewed as modern day Africa. Though independent, Africa is yet to find her identity despite being unique in her own right. From culture to language and environment, Africa towers above her contemporaries. Her people, are unique yet share a lot of similarities which should unite Africa but instead, it breeds a lot of misunderstanding. Accordingly, Anne’s alphabet seeks to solve this by calling for a new universal language. This language should remind modern day Africans of their origin and use the present to unite future generations. Just like Anne, the modern day African generation is a unique blend of different African ethnicities. If well embraced, this uniqueness can bring Africa together. 

A keen exploration of ‘The Essence’ shows the ever present egg in the pieces on display. The egg merges with the heart to espouse a sense of home. The heart paintings reflect life and the myogenic nature of growth and migration. The heart is central to life yet it pumps life throughout the body just like the growth of a generation which has an origin. From this heart we can share life, hope and love thus make Africa pulsate with an astounding future. In order to arrive at an idealized future, the source of life must be protected and that is why, in the paintings, the ever present delicate egg is enclosed. Even though it teeters towards the edge, the egg does not fall because it brings hope and when hope dies everything else will. 

Apart from paintings, Anne Fashioned a 20M long scarf, ‘The Wheel of Time’ made from different materials, the wheel of time shows transition of time. It also embodies DNA strands which speak about the mutations that have occurred through time to make the present day species. Also, ‘The Wheel of Time’ is a fortune teller’s necklace that can foretell the future thus spreading hope.

Anne’s work is subject to numerous interpretations. Observers and discerning art aficionados can draw various angles from her work. From the choice of materials, their size, the type of hue used and the formation of patterns, her art forms a field of study that needs to be enjoyed as well as studied. What is clear though is that she works with a sense of intellectual preciseness merging her upbringing together with her education to produce insightful art pieces.

Born in Kenya, Anne has widely travelled and through her voyages, she has gathered a lot of knowledge on material culture and spirituality of her people and others. Through this interaction, she has formed a hypothesis about her own identity which she exhibited in May. 

I started interacting with Anne’s work in 2016 during her exhibition ‘The Perfect Fit’ at the Polka Dot Gallery in Karen Nairobi. The exhibition aimed to look at how perception defines how we treat people and the position we place them. In 2017, I also viewed her ‘I am” exhibition at Banana Hill contemporary Art Gallery in Kiambu which could easily be interpreted to be a precursor to ‘The Essence.” 

Anne is a 2014 winner of the World Citizen Award. Her piece, ‘A Stitch in Time’ was a perfect metaphor for the theme of the year: “Compete for Peace- Not War.” Recently she was awarded Doctor of Fine Art Degree from the Academy of Arts based in Poland.