MATATU GAMES exhibition by Dennis Muraguri

The Matatu Games exhibition is part of an ongoing learning initiative project that centers on the urban matatu culture in Kenya. The first phase of the exhibition was a public art project done in the streets of Nairobi earlier in the year. It presented street art as a significant art form that is as valuable and powerful as any other on the matatus of the city.
Muraguri takes a particular focus on touts (matatu conductors), popularly referred to as ‘makangas’. He brings to light the audacious stunts (matatu games) that the touts are famous for.
Matatus are a constant sight in Kenya and an icon of all its cities and towns. As well as being the main mode of transport, they also provide ‘street theatre’ especially when running from the police and at the same time as competing for customers!
There is also a creative side to the matatus involving “souping up” or upgrading the Nissan or Bus to attract more customers using heavy decorative paintwork, stickers and labels derived from current local and international brands mostly in the entertainment industry, loud music and plasma screens. These kind of matatus are called “manyangas” and are most notorious for reckless driving, speeding and overcharging.

About the artist:
Dennis Muraguri is a mixed media artist whose work employs sculptures, paintings, and installations, often in unexpected combinations that traverse traditional practice boundaries with modern ones. Dennis Muraguri uses different medium to showcase this unique sub culture whose influence on our society is irrefutable. Born in 1980 in Naivasha, Dennis Muraguri graduated with a Diploma in Painting and History of Art (Graduating top of Class) from Buru Buru Institute of Fine Arts, Nairobi and is currently based at Kuona Trust Art centre. He has showcased his work in many art galleries with Matatu Games being his comeback solo exhibition.

“As an artist, I have been wanting for some time to do a body of work on the matatus: they are exciting to watch, especially the drama that surrounds them, the fact that they feed a lot more people than those directly involved through extortion and bribes, their relationship in our society shows how they have evolved to beat the law, is all fertile creative territory for me.”
Dennis Maraguri explained.

Be sure to catch the Matatu Games Exhibition at the Kuona Arts Centre with runs from 18th June – 2nd July and see how matatus add value to our culture in Kenya.

By Michael Nzambu