ARTIST STATEMENT
The Pink Period
My artistic practice sits at the intersection of painting, illustration, and visual storytelling. I explore themes of
identity, intimacy, emotional growth, rest, and our relationship with nature, using surreal and dreamlike imagery
as my core language. I came to art and culture as a way to express myself and to protect my inner child. I was
never particularly comfortable with words, yet I always had a lot to say. Making images became my way of
communicating feelings and ideas that felt too complex or fragile to explain verbally.
My choice of medium is deeply connected to how I experience the world internally. From a young age, I have
had vivid dreams, daydreams, and meditative visions. These internal images are often clear, symbolic, and
emotionally charged, and painting allows me to translate them into a tangible reality.
A recurring element in my work is the depiction of human-like figures made from foliage, flowers, and organic
forms. Through this, I explore the idea that humans are not separate from nature but an extension of it. Through
my art, I yearn for a time when we lived in harmony with nature. These figures function as emotional landscapes,
reflecting growth, fragility, and renewal. I often begin with a feeling rather than a fixed concept, allowing images
to emerge organically through reflection, dreaming, and observation.
Much of my recent work responds to questions around rest, self-worth, and inherited urgency, particularly within a
Nairobi context shaped by both contemporary pressures and postcolonial histories.
Through quiet compositions, open skies, and moments of stillness, I aim to create spaces that encourage reflection
and emotional clarity. My practice ultimately seeks to offer viewers a pause, a mirror, and an invitation to
reconnect with themselves and the world around them.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Gavin Kendo is a visual artist based in Nairobi, Kenya. His body of work finds its core in genuine human experiences
and emotions, portrayed through an interplay of vivid colours that are reminiscent of his childhood. Kendo
draws profound inspiration from his own daily existence, nocturnal dreams, and interpersonal relationships with
those around him. Through his art, he explores the idea that life’s essence transcends the visible, offering a visual
narrative that challenges conventional perspectives. Each composition serves as a conduit for his innermost
contemplations, laying bare the intricate dialogue that transpires within him. His art is an expression of a healed
Africa, free from the inherited trauma caused by colonialism.
Kendo has had solo exhibitions at Alliance Française Nairobi and the Forster Gallery and has participated in
various group exhibitions, including multiple exhibitions at the National Museum of Kenya. He has also ventured
into the emergent realm of fine art NFTs, where his innovative approach has resonated with a community of
collectors. Additionally, he collaborated with Goethe-Institut Nairobi to create a month-long virtual reality
exhibition, State of The Art 3.0, that championed the use of emergent technology to create art in developing
countries.
