Anthony Muisyo’s compelling exhibition Posta (Pervasive whispers) encourages the viewer to open their eyes to what’s often overlooked, yet right in front of us, as we walk through the city. How many posters for fundis’ services do we pass in a single day? Do we notice them? Or scan past them as we rush on with our daily life? Do we ever give thought to the fundis behind the posters?
Muisyo did and presents his musings around the theme in a number of media, different yet cohesive. The work invites us to focus on the people—the fundis, designers, waganga, and others—whose contributions are all around us but often fade into the background, and to attune our ears to the constant hum of voices that shape our urban landscape. He looks at the genius that is all around us in the streets – the fundi that can repair things that are commercially designed to be irreparable.
Muisyo says he was first attracted to the posters which give this exhibition its title: POSTA – the name signifies the Kenyan pronunciation (“bastardization”) of the English word. Coming from a graphic design background, he was intrigued by the layout and the font. In his walkabout gallery tour, Muisyo told us that the font used is Impact. He suspects the usage is leftover from early days of computing when Impact came as a basic, free font. Because of its compressed format, the font also allows for maximum number of words per line.
As Muisyo started paying attention to these fundi posters, he started to think about the fundis themselves. What is their story? Where are they based? Do they have workshops? He found that most often they simply have a table at a market.
Considering the fundis led him to consider the mechanics behind their trades, leading him down tangential but related paths, aided by his earlier training in electrical engineering.
Untitled Laser cut stencil, torch, wood, concrete, electrical plug & cables
Muisyo uses this ubiquitous font Impact throughout his works. In the first work that we view, moving behind a dark curtain we see a projection. Muisyo has been very intentional in the construction of the projection. Thinking once again of the fundis, he has simply used a handmade stencil, with words in the Impact font laser cut out. Behind this he has put a basic flashlight/torch to illuminate the words onto the wall.
The text is an imagined advertisement and refers to “The Institute of Digital Alchemy” setting the tone for the exhibition. “Alchemy” is a word that typically brings feelings of physicality, of potions and ancient rituals. However, combine it with “digital” and perhaps we start thinking of both words and of what technology does, to us and to our world, in a different way. This theme continues throughout the exhibition.
Muisyo with his work (Untitled) at Munyu Space
A further piece comprises an enticing hanging work of small, colourful framed squares. Look closely and you can see that each square is a cropped detail of a poster in Impact font. Singly, we can see that this plays with the graphics of the posters, abstracting them into visually appealing snippets.
Then you discover that each square has been designed as a piece of information to be fed into a machine-learning machine to purposefully create an algorithm. We can see the electrical wires of the machine. The machine is mimicking what social media apps on our phones do, with the specific guidance of the artist. Muisyo is reminding us that there are humans at the beginning of the creation of AI and of algorithms. Those devices seem sleek and almost mysterious in their workings. As well as all the implications of the targeted randomness of algorithms, Muisyo is reminding us that in fact they could be the work of a fundi.
Fundi wa Simu 60x30cm, screen print & fabric collage
Muisyo’s work also draws from African folk tales and traditions, ancient history and the city of Nairobi. He finds ways to use digital techniques and tools in combination with traditional material such as paper, wood and fabric to create work that navigates the varied themes that interest him.
He envisions his own mythologies and totems, as in the digital print series of created mythical creatures based on Muisyo’s exploration of his own Kamba and Kenyan heritage. He has imagined what ancient fundis would have been, drawing on the history of mining, blacksmithing and forging; considering the electromagnetic forces that are often prevalent in these areas; and reclaiming science from 19th century Victorians via ancient imagery and expressions in the Swahili language.
15th Century 30×30, digital print
Starting with a simple fundi poster, of the sort which we’ve all seen and probably not thought anything of, Muisyo has developed a visual language of reflection on a diverse range of concepts that are simultaneously linked. Although this exhibition feels complete, you can see that Muisyo is still ruminating and playing with these ideas. I very much look forward to seeing the next iteration of his work. Meanwhile, you have the rest of the week to catch his show at Munyu Space. Go!
POSTA is showing at Munyu Space, The Mall (Basement), Westlands until Friday 9 May.
Anthony Muisyo was born in 1993, in Nairobi. He has been involved in making art since he was 7 years old when he used to draw out his favourite storybook characters; however, he ended up pursuing a degree and a brief career as an Electrical Engineer. A path he’d follow until 2021 when he decided to pursue art and design. His work isn’t solely for his art practice, but for editorial and commercial use as well through clients such as CNN, The Sociological Review, and WeTransfer. He has also been exhibited at the Circle Art Gallery and The African Arts Trust in Nairobi. He is currently living and working in Nairobi, Kenya. You can find Muisyo on Instagram @nafsi.yake