CREATION OF POCKETS OF PEACE | APRIL KAMUNDE

April Kamunde (Nairobi, 1988) uses painting to tell intimate stories and depict moments from her personal daily life. Her artworks are characterized by a delicate, gentle style, composed of soft brushstrokes that give shape to the artist’s feminist vision, expressed through her choice to carve out space and time for herself in moments of rest and introspection.
In her most recent works, Kamunde explores the concept of rest—and the very pursuit of this state—as a central theme: an ideally accessible condition, not necessarily seen as a pause following an activity or commitment.

Creation Of Pockets Of Peace (2024) originates from a personal reflection: the perception of being trapped in a frenetic pace of life and an oppressive system of social expectations tied to gender roles.
The artwork, a large-scale oil painting on canvas, seeks to reconcile the divide between work time and rest time within a scene that merges bucolic elements with details reminiscent of Renaissance painting.
The central element of Creation Of Pockets Of Peace is gesture. The protagonist of the painting is a woman, depicted from an angle that reveals only her legs—one stretched out and the other bent vertically, supporting a relaxed, dangling arm. She sits on a grassy field, holding the remains of an almost-finished orange fruit in her hand, likely a quick snack. Spread across the grass lies a soft fabric cloth in pink, yellow, and blue—vibrant colors that brighten the image and create a pleasant contrast with the green of the field. Skillfully placed patches of shadow suggest that the woman is resting in the shade of a tree.
The scene evokes a renowned reference, openly acknowledged by the artist: Michelangelo’s Adam in the Sistine Chapel. Every aspect of the composition recalls the poses, the portrayal of the body, and the background. Kamunde contemporizes the theme of creation with ordinary, everyday elements, like savoring some fruit under a tree during a moment of pause. The contemplation of beauty, whether through direct contact with nature or mediated by the observation of art, ensures a strong connection with our inner selves, creating a true ‘pocket of peace,’ an experience we should seek out every day.

April Kamunde
Creation Of Pockets Of Peace, 2024
Oil on canvas, 116,5 x 80 cm
Courtesy of Afriart Gallery

05/03/25