Lamu of the Future

Born in Kisii in 1960, the Kenyan artist Richard Onyango is one of the most important artists from the East African coast. Since the 1990s, his works have appeared in major international art exhibitions and are represented in prestigious collections. Two paintings acquired by the National Museum in Szczecin are part of the Future Lamu series, which Onyango began in 2009. He continued to rework and repaint individual pieces until they were sold – which, in the case of the National Museum in Szczecin, happened in 2023. This process of repainting and perfecting his work reflects Onyango’s fascination with technological and cultural progress. It also points to his Afrofuturist approach to art, which Ytasha L Womack – a leading figure in the movement – defines as the intersection of imagination, technology, the future and liberation. Future Lamu presents a utopian vision of the town of Lamu, located on the island of the same name in south-eastern Kenya. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Lamu is one of the oldest and relatively best-preserved settlements reflecting Swahili culture, which developed through the blending of African, Arab, Persian, Indian and European influences. Lamu is famous for its unique culture (predominantly Islamic), its distinctive coral-stone houses, narrow alleyways, intricately carved doors and ornamental stucco. It attracts both artists and tourists. As there are no motor vehicles on the island, transport and heavy work are still carried out using donkeys. Onyango transforms Lamu into a utopian metropolis full of crowded multi-lane highways, modern shopping centres, bridges, ports, marinas and airports. Onyango lives and works in Malindi. The best-known part of his artistic work focuses on his relationship with Drosie – a plump, white woman who died young. He portrays her with striking realism in both imagined and real-life scenarios charged with emotional tension. In doing so, he reflects many of the fantasies through which Africa and the West view one another. Whether showing shifts between dominance and submission in their relationship, or his fascination with Drosie’s luxurious lifestyle, Onyango overturns stereotypes and condemns the violence associated with them. Marlena Chybowska-Butler