Carbon often gets a bad rap, it’s easy to forget the element is a building block of life.
This seems to be the conversation that Evans Ngure and Wallace Juma hope to trigger with their ongoing exhibition ‘An Ode to a Carbon Life’ currently on display at the Alliance Française.
Though unified by a common message, the two artists have unique different styles, using discarded and reclaimed material to make art that advocates for climate action mitigation.
Speaking at the opening of the expo two weeks ago, the climate conscious artists delved into their different inspirations and the different ways they seek to pass the now near-universal message.
Evans Ngure’s love for animals is evident in his artworks, something he readily admits as he brings together everyday items from our homes to create a body of work that speaks into our daily interactions. Some of his pieces are actually interactive.
Every day I am trying to discover something new; a new media, a new… anything, because for me its breathing life into things that don’t have a voice,”Evans Ngure explains.
Wallace Juma’s mixed media on PVC seeks to propagate thought and invoke emotion, through a body of art that, in his own words, transcends the boundaries of noise.
I am always just trying to inspire a full spectrum of emotions into those who stand before them,”he says the works on display.
The duo renews, recycles, reuses and repurposes old material to gift it new life as they enlighten on the need to maintain biodiversity, practice better waste management and hold conversations with the viewer on the nature of modern consumerism.
It is a conversation about the quality of our existence and experience here on Earth, our day-to-day life and how it relates to other lifeforms.
When you’re conscious about your life and you practise gratitude, it becomes a simple choice to realise what is important. You don’t want to spend 70 years on earth and half of it in hospital because of fumes we consume every day,”Juma opines on the importance of the message, coming hot on the heels of the recently-concluded Africa Climate Summit.
Don’t miss ‘An Ode to Carbon Life’ to experience the art of Evans Ngure and Wallace Juma as they advocate for responsible being and living. The exhibition runs until Friday, September 15.
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