Artist Statement
An ongoing area of interest in my artistic practice is particularly the exploration of the intersperse between environmental sustainability and human life from a cultural, social and political perspective. My work explores the use of metaphors that have cultural, social and political meaning in the society of interest and purposely selection of materials to enhance tactile aspects of the work. For instance, in “unappreciated”, this piece is among an ongoing series, that tries to start conversation on potentiality that exist with individuals who commute around the streets of Dar es salaam to collect plastic bottles. In this piece, a woman is holding a seedling. The seedling is used as a metaphor to symbolize freshness and youth of the activity done by these individuals as an approach to deal with single use plastic waste problem in the society. This approach needs to be given care so that it can grow and have a greater impact to the society. The woman symbolizes the care and patience required to nurture a sustainable environment in this approach. Additionally, in the work I have collaged plastic bottles and labels to show which single used plastic waste are being collected by these individuals.
Biography
Mihayo Kallaye he is an artist based in Dar-es-salaam Tanzania. Following the completion of his BSc. in environmental sciences and management, he joined the Nafasi Academy hosted by Nafasi Art Space in Tanzania. Area of interest in his artistic practice is the activities of daily life in his society, particularly questions of environmental sustainability. He creates figurative paintings where his forms are inspired by Makonde wood carving traditions. He works with metaphor, rich colors, textures, and purposely selection of materials to enhance tactile aspects of the work. His work has been exhibited in the East Africa Biennale 2019; the National Museum of Tanzania 2020; and Circle Art gallery, Kenya, 2021.
