Matt Kayem
Until 8th December 2019, Kioko Mwitiki Gallery, Nairobi
About Cool Afrika
Having grown up in Kampala consuming western culture, Matt Kayem celebrates his newfound identity as a conscious African/Muganda after questioning and examining the colonial era that brainwashed and erased the ways of his ancestors. Kayem revisits pre-colonial Buganda/Africa and picks out elements like clothing and things in daily use and adds them to those in modern day use or those gotten from the western world. With this, he builds his own aesthetic, that not only hints on decolonization of his kind but also a conscious integration of cultures and identity for the present day Africans.
Pop culture is an influence Kayem incorporates in his art. African-American culture is one of his major interests – with the Air Jordan 1, a darling pair of shoes among the hip hop world appearing alongside bark cloth that was worn in pre-colonial Baganda. It is within the African-American world that he gets part of the word in the title, “Cool”. Cool in its most obvious form denotes the aspect of being hip or trendy. It is also a general aesthetic of how one carries themselves, either in the way they talk, walk and other actions.
In Kayem’s use and context, it gives an alternative view on Africapositioning it as a desirable place, as a rich continent and as a paradise. The continent and its people have been victims of negatively framed representations and in this body of work, he flips the old narrative. He does this by drawing knowledge from his rich heritage and history while referencing works and thoughts of people like Cheikh Anta Diop, Malcolm X, Kwame Nkrumah, Marcus Garvey, Steve Biko and Bob Marley.
There are two areas on the black(African) person have been largely toyed with, that is the mind and body which are explored in this body of work. Christianity was used to justify slavery as well as grab land and resources in Buganda(Africa) where Matt comes from.For all this and more that’s happening has created Africans that are gullible. In Kampala, like most African cities, Pentecostal churches are fleecing money from unsuspecting goers. There is a looming aura of inferiority complex among us as Africans which was created during the subjugation era of slavery and colonialism. This is what Kayem seeks to discuss. Why do we still have the lake, Victoria with that name? Why do our children get punished in school for speaking their local languages? With this work, he wants people like him to own and love themselves, their bodies, their present and future.And we can’t do that if we still think that what was originally us is barkward or bad! Bark cloth which is used in the work is a fabric that was worn by pre-colonial Baganda but today, many Baganda fear the material as it was relegated to funeral services only. Many associate it with death and witchcraft. The black body has also been or even up to now represented negatively. From the Sarah Baartman times to today where bleaching creams that damage people’s skins in the pursuit of achieving “the lighter, the more beautiful” construct. Matt flaunts and praises the dark skin in his work and highlights the pros of being a member of his race. Body positivity
that is portrayed today in the hip hop videos is very much linked to practices in Africa. It is however ridiculed and branded as ‘objectification’ by the western world.
Matt hints on the issue of authenticity of identity in his work. What or who is a true African, he seems to say when he adds together the three fabrics. Denim, which speaks a lot to him as an urban bred who grew up dreaming to own a nice pair of jeans. African-wax print which has a contested origin and influence but has found home in most parts of Africa. The wax print represents present day Africa, an intergration of cultures, a new and fake version of what we used to be. Bark cloth, represents pre-colonial Africa, with all it’s ways, organic and closer to nature and the environment.
Matt Kayem is interested in Pan-Africanism and to spark conversations around it. He wants to unite black people together in his work and also inspire young people in his country and continent to jump out of a trap we have been in for a long time.
Biography
Matt Kayem is a Ugandan contemporary visual artist. Born Michael Matthew Kayiwa on 5th June 1991 to a retired teacher and a retired mid-wife in the small town of Mityana, 60 kilometres from the capital Kampala. Both his parents owned a bookstore right in the heart of the town which meant that the young Michael would be introduced to writing and drawing at an early stage. He started kindergarten school in a local school in Mityana and his drawing skills were evidently good even at that stage. He attended Budo Junior School for his primary education, a traditionally prestigious school and continued to Mengo Senior School for his secondary level. At Mengo Senior, he took on art as a subject right from senior one. After his secondary school, he joined Michelangelo College of Creative Arts, Kisubi. After three years at the art school, he attained a certificate and diploma in art and design in October 2015.
He has exhibited at the Makerere art gallery in a group exhibition dubbed “My Art, My Life”. This was immediately after graduation from art school in November-December 2015. He was one of the selected artists to perform at the Laba Arts Festival on 11th June 2016 where he did a live painting performance. Matt Kayem opened up his first solo exhibition on 22nd July 2016 at Under Ground gallery. The exhibition was titled “Pop-Rap-Hip”. Matt Kayem is one of the artists showed at the 2nd edition of the Kampala Art Biennale in September 2016. Kayem recently showed in a group exhibition at the Nommo gallery in a show dubbed “The East African Connect” which ran from 14th October to 30th October 2016. In April 2017, he was part of ‘EkifananyikyaMuteesa”, a group exhibition at the Makerere art gallery.
He is currently an artist in residency at 32 degrees East, Ugandan Arts Trust, a centre, only one of it’s kind in Uganda that nurtures contemporary artists.
Matt Kayem is a full time visual artist that applies his skills in painting, sculpture, installation, performance, graffiti and photography. He works and lives in Kampala, Rubaga road.