NAME: Michael Kyalo
TITLE: Garbage Collection
MEDIUM: Mixed Media
DIMENSIONS: 120 x 120 cm
ARTWORK DESCRIPTION: Using recycled waste to create this art piece, Kyalo offers this reflection on the chaos following the downing of tools by protesting county sanitation workers in Nairobi.
ARTIST PROFILE: Based in Nairobi’s South B area, Mike Kyalo is inspired by the theme of Men at Work.
Judges' Quotes
Mike Kyalo displays impressive use of media in this well-balanced piece. He uses the generous layers of paint to create the textures which depict the garbage.
The artist gets the brief. He interprets the theme and turns garbage into a winning piece. He turns an unsightly but familiar mound of garbage into a piece of work which could easily sit in anyone’s house or office. This piece captures the theme accurately.
The thing that really stands out is that the painting did much more than depict a particular event—garbage collection. The way the work is painted, the way the artist works the surface, the very thick and heavy application of the paints, the choice of bright colors, the texture, and the use of the material itself really echoes the event that the artist is trying to capture. The paint is an extension of what he is communicating and not just a tool with which to render an image.