Yona Mudibo + Natalia Karczewska
in collaboration with : Kadet Mikail Nasonga, Elfour El, Michael Okumu, Jánice Nyadida, Maxwell Odhiambo, Sally Atieno Ochieng
Metal construction: Fredrick Otieno
Gardener: Ali Mvurya Mkala
Help in organizing the exhibition space: Mwakiwiwi Mwachia
Plastic materials from: Kivukoni School
Special thanks to all The Alliance Française team
Hybridimal
The evolution of the devolved fauna finds reality from the fantasy of treasured trash,
Moulded, emboldened by the daily
days of the society are of the precious past.
For what shall the present gift to the future without the gold, myrrh and frankincense?
And who shall defy the odds and gods and sing their songs?
Plastic tears for the future past.
Plastic tears for the present.
(Poem by Yona Mudibo)
As part of the Social Ecology project, we created a sculpture workshop whose medium was plastic waste. Referring to African culture, a group of artists created figures in honor of non-existent gods, relevant to contemporary environmental and social issues. They were made from garbage; materials that are generally available and non-hierarchical.
In this way, the artists were able to grapple with the current trauma of excess garbage, which they can creatively exploit by building sculptural forms and reflecting on the possibilities of a medium that someone had previously considered garbage.
The next stage of the work was the construction of the eponymous Hybridimal; an experimental garden form made from recycled materials. The word Hybridimal – comes from the words – hybrid and animal. In tribute to turtles – the main structure resembles a shell. Six of the seven species of sea turtles are threatened with extinction due to plastic pollution, their bodies taking on hybrid, unhealthy forms that no longer resemble animals living in the wild.
The installation is a site-specific object, a pot, a garden decoration, a place for contemplation.
photos by Igor Omulecki
Yona Mudibo
Yona Mudibo is a multidisciplinary visual artist working in various media such as pencil drawing, oil and mixed media paintings, body art, mural painting, installations and string art. He is more well known for his work in body art, murals installations and string art. Most of these works are usually aimed at inspiring pride in African heritage and highlighting legends in African history, and campaigning for environmental conservation. He started making art from a young age but began a professional career in 2014.
Based in Mombasa, where he was born and raised, Mudibo has been involved in several exhibitions and projects around Kenya. These exhibitions include the Affordable Art Show, Safari ya Sanaa, Pwani Art Exhibition, among others. Projects include painting educational murals in the streets on preventive measures against Corona, and the Creative Economy project in which he and other artists did artworks to beautify the streets of Mombasa (the highlight of which was doing a mural inside the famous MacKinnon market, and a string art piece at the Railway Garden.
He has won several awards. From competitions in primary school to the most recent, a national competition, Sondeka Awards, in which he was awarded the “Best Traditional Artist” award in 2020.
Also a participant in a number of residencies including Bahari Huru residency, Anidan Art Center Residency among others, he has also become a champion against plastic pollution in the ocean.
He is currently working with Alliance Francaise de Mombasa on a project towards campaigning against plastic pollution.
Natalia Karczewska
Natalia Karczewska is a visual artist working with sculpture, installation, drawing and poetry. She graduated from the Faculty of Animation (2017) and the Faculty of Intermedia Art (2019) at the University of Arts in Poznań. Her diploma project was presented at the Maria Dokowicz Competition for the Best Diploma Project and received an award from “Czas Kultury” quarterly (2019). She has presented her works in The Arsenal Municipal Gallery, Poznań (2020); Skala Gallery, Poznań (2018); Re Gallery, Museum of Contemporary Art, Kraków (2017); lokal_30, Warsaw (2017); BWA Zielona Góra (2017), and internationally: Villa Vertua Masolo, Milan (2020), Foothold, L.A.L.D., Polignano a Mare (2019). Since 2019 she has been part of Sandra Art Gallery – a collective and nomadic space. She works as an assistant at the Painting Department of the Academy of Art in Szczecin. Currently represented by Stereo Gallery from Warsaw.
