An Interview with John Kamicha
John Kamicha, a local artist who, in April, had an artwork taken down from an exhibition at Alliance Francaise, is sitting beside me, typing. It is lunchtime in the back garden at Kuona Trust. The place is buzzing with creative banter and the stocky fragrance of beef stew. Kamicha finishes up, and we begin discussing the controversial work entitled: Sexual Retreat. He tells me he made most of his money doing portraits of animals and experimenting with color, texture and pattern. This piece was his first serious exploration of a topic that is sensitive to many: religion. The striking work depicts Jesus Christ indulging in sex and other debaucheries. Well aware of the difficult subject matter, John actually enforced a self-censorship of sorts by deciding to keep the work safe in his studio after its completion.
“I had been thinking about Sexual Retreat for years and had actually completed the work before we decided on the theme of the exhibition,” Kamicha explains. Back in the 90’s, he started to spend time with a group of Rastafarians. Apart from the expected activities one engages in with Rastafarians, they were surrounded by a vast array of spiritual-themed books. It was during this time that Kamicha “had his faith shaken” and was plaguedby questions he read from Egyptology literature and alternative theories about Jesus. Kamicha was particularly interested in the symbol of the cross and who Jesus, the man, really was.
People - like the French student/instigator who alerted the management at Alliance of the “blasphemy” being hung in the foyer, often believe artists like John Kamicha to be intentionally disrespectful. Kamicha however believes that art is a way of answering questions. “Sometimes in life you’ll have burning questions that nobody can answer for you. So you express your feelings the best way you know how.” He sees an artwork as a time capsule for “the emotions you felt at that point in your life. Your ideas may grow and change but that is just a reminder of who you were. Nothing more.”
Kamicha enjoys experimenting with different media and although the bulk of his work has been painting, he found that using collage “would have more of an impact because the images are real-life cut-outs and not from my imagination.” Upon seeing the work, one understands the choice and also why it was so risky. Kamicha considers the artist’s responsibility to be a mirror for society. “If people have a problem with anything, I believe that problem starts from within and then moves out. I just wish that people would come and discuss their concerns with me directly.”
The reasons for censorship of a work be it a film, song, article or artwork, are “plenty”. However, the root of these millions of reasons is some kind of fear: fear of civil revolt, fear of citizens engaging in illicit substances, fear of children experimenting with sexuality, etc. Conveniently though, nobody really chooses to see it that way. The word fear hardly appears in matters of censorship and banning, only the concept of what is “morally” and “ethically” correct. Works such as Sexual Retreat may be perceived as offensive and blasphemous but it is not as though Kamicha created the subject matter itself, artists never do. They simply draw from what surrounds them, inviting us to engage and debate.
What we see in the mirror can sometimes be grotesque. We tend to react very harshly to things that make us uncomfortable or insecure. This can be seen throughout the history of media censorship, not just in Kenya, but also across the globe. Artists like Kamicha are choosing to shy away from generic fabric paintings of skinny Maasai migrating across the desert. Instead they are confronting difficult topics in order to produce innovative and provocative work. Having a bit of courage to be curious instead of defensive will be crucial to raising the standard of our work and re-defining the stereotypical idea of African art. Maybe, we should start by being less afraid of canvas on a wall. Maybe, censorship does a lot more harm than presumed.
Censorship in Kenya
1990 - Journalists tortured and jailed for engaging with media that “misrepresents” the government. The Nation Newspaper was banned from covering parliamentary matters.
1998 - The book, Quotations From Chairman Mao Tse-Tung–former leader of China’s Communist Party—banned for fear of inciting civil unrest amongst citizens.
2001 - Eric Wainaina’s debut hit single Nchi ya Kitu Kidogo—meaning Country of Bribes- gets banned from national radio.
May 2009 - Otto: The Blood Bath, Kenya’s first horror film, is banned before national release for being too gory and violent.
May 2012 - Paradise: Love, featuring Kenyan actors, a film about European women in their 60’s seeking young love on the Kenyan coast, is banned.
By Liz Maelane
