The Next Generation: Sandy Wuaye

Magic Moments Unnoticed

While rich present day experience rustles among abundant foliage, the future uncoils from the expressive lines and vivid hues of Kenyan artist Sandy Wuaye’s oil on canvas impressions. Documenting and extracting magic from scenes of everyday life, Wuaye crafts paintings and images which highlight the beauty and richness often overlooked in the African social and natural landscape. The artist’s point of view as a newly minted full-time artist works to a special advantage in forming a fresh-eyed and energetic perspective. In Wuaye’s work, scenes of children in motion illuminate abstract ideas of life and potential. Portraits of people capture local emotional complexity, while an observant though liberated painting style awakens the senses and alerts viewers to sights yet unseen. Although the vibrancy of present day to day life in the paintings of Sandy Wuaye more than grasp us viewers and call attention to our inattention, it is the lingering feeling of an even brighter and bolder future unfurling beneath the surface which holds our gaze and ensures we won’t turn our back again anytime soon.

Part One: Who is Sandy Wuaye?

Question #2: Who are you as an artist?

I am an emerging artist, in the very early days of my career and I like to share everyday mundane and ordinary human experiences from my side of the world to as many people as I can across the world. I consider myself a portrait and figurative oil painter, and traditional illustrator. When I am not painting using oil I do miniature gouache illustrations. I am inspired by ordinary people going about their lives unnoticed, striving to be better. In my paintings I like to capture their strengths, vulnerabilities, fears, weaknesses, learn from them, and hopefully that my final pieces provoke deep thoughts and emotions from my viewers about the intricacies and simplicities of life. I want my paintings to help not just me examine myself but the people viewing it. As I continue to grow as a painter, I see how one millisecond of a moment that we would otherwise ignore be so magnified and emboldened by a couple brushstrokes of paint. It amazes me, I’d like to amaze everyone else.

Question #4: What is something you wish someone had told you at some point in your life?

Go for as many opportunities as you can, go for all of them with everything you have, you get braver with every little stride. I wish I had understood a lot earlier in life that there really is nothing to be afraid of.

Question #5: Why do you need art your life?

In the past few months, I have gained more confidence than I ever have within my short existence so far. I have become bolder, I am learning to trust myself, I am also more content, a lot less anxious and even though it seems so far away, I do see myself growing and establishing a good career as an artist. It is the only place where I feel most competent and most alive and really my words can not possibly describe how much I love painting and creating. It is where feel most courageous, most daring, unstoppable and I feel like I am actually breathing. I just, in the simplest terms of all, I love it.

Question #6: Is your artwork for yourself or for others?

It is for myself and others. I don’t want it just as a hobby, I would like an audience that relishes and enjoys the work I have done. I want my audience to see and appreciate my struggles, criticize my work, love it, hate it, feel all sorts of things about them, just as I do.

Question #7: What is your escape?

Art, binge watching crime drama and discovering new things.

---

Part Two: Rich in Experiences

How would you describe your artistic practice?

I get inspired from watching other painters show their processes on the internet, intense scrolling on Instagram, appreciating so many different artists across the globe and the techniques that they use. Seeing other people in their creative element jumpstarts my process everyday. Gaining different perspectives from different artists helps me continue to develop my own. So in my work I like to share little snippets of the African experience. We, as Africans know so much about the rest of the world but the rest of the world knows very little about us. There is very little knowledge and recognition of Africans besides the everyday CNN stories of hunger, political strife and violence and endless depravity. That seems to be the continuous narrative of the African continent. Only a few curious people have dared to come and see what we have to offer. I think we also haven’t done enough to market our rich and wonderful experiences to the world. So my underlying theme presents our rich experiences. We are not so different from the rest of the world in our individual struggles. I tend to incorporate the nature around us in every painting. As I grow I have incorporated our beautiful landscapes, hopeful faces, anxious faces looking for opportunity. I am also working more and more on quick gouache illustrations for children. I want us to appreciate ourselves and the rest of the world to appreciate our experiences and interesting stories. I hope to venture into digital illustration and animation soon.

Where/ How can Vacant Museum viewers see more of your work and where can they purchase it?

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPEDIunHbAh/?utm_medium=copy_link