Shabu Mwangi

Art & life in a Nairobi slum

“Live is tough. I left my family and started living with other boys when I was 12 years old. I didn’t fear anything but death… I was surrounded by death. It hit my people. I made friends with fellow artists and I saw them die, mainly because of (life in) the crime scene…”

Shabu’s paintings are about human emotions he encounters amongst his fellow slum-dwellers. He shows events that nobody else pays any attention to; illegal abortions, under-age prostitution, people dying as a result of fires caused by illegal electricity and oil leaks from nearby factories. He is fascinated by human behaviour. As he explains: “In this postmodern life people live together but are isolated bubbles and want to show others that they are cool and happy… But people forget that they can only understand happiness if they know what sadness means.” The sadness that Shabu has experienced first-hand during his harsh life in the slums of Nairobi informs much of his art. His paintings are narratives. The dark colours and abstract figures have an alienating effect. “People feel pain when they see my work. It’s about humans and events that happen in the slum. The faces are not scary, but what takes place is scary and I can only embody that through facial expressions.”