Cynthia Nyakiro Ngunjiri is a multimedia visual artist based in Nairobi, Kenya. Nyakiro has been interested in the arts since childhood. “I always had a desire to express myself and I found out at an early age that I can translate my thoughts into something concrete.” After completing high school, she took a degree in architecture at Nelson Mandela University before choosing to follow her passion in the visual arts, studying Fine Art at Kenyatta University.

Nyakiro draws her inspiration from nature and human relationships, as well as the metaphysical. She works with various media such as recycled paper, x-rays, magazine cut-outs, ink, bleach, pigment, photography and digital media. Her works embody the creativity that she garners from her environment. Inspired by the Dadaist movement, she uses the techniques of photomontage and collage. “I like to gather various objects, observing their nature, taking them apart and grouping them together. I view every material I collect for my pieces as having infinite lives. By distorting and pasting different bits and pieces together, I breathe life into them – give them new significance.”

Her work is in private collections locally and internationally.

Awards

MASK Awards 2017 and MASK Awards 2018.

Artist statement

“I create as a response to the visual metaphors in my mind. Through my work I am able to go inward, explore worlds unknown to me, in an effort to better understand myself and find connections with others.”

CV & exhibition history

Education

2014 – 2017 - Architecture at Nelson Mandela University.

2018 – 2022 - Fine Art at Kenyatta University.

Exhibitions

2018 – Early 21^st Century Young African Artists. Saatchi Gallery. London, UK.

2018 – ‘All art should be social art’. Turner Contemporary, Margate, UK.