BENARD MUNYANGE

Benard Munyange is a Kenyan based visual artist and Fine Art student at Kenyatta University. "My five senses inspire my work and the music I listen to...oooff! Steals the show. What I see, hear, feel or think about is the picture I paint." Munyange's artistic focus primarily centers on the human skin, especially hands and faces, though he occasionally explores other textural subjects around him. Texture is his work described in one word; he wants viewers to feel the material almost like they could touch the emotion. His fascination with art began at the age of six after a human figure drawing amused the whole class. The assignment was to draw and label the parts of the body as it was depicted on the text book. The drawing turned out fine that the whole class said there was no way he could have done it without tracing. His journey was catapulted back in 2017 (12 years) when he discovered a place where kids had fun doing crafts. It all happened in Lainisaba - Kibra where he was born and brought. It was this church called Church of God; they offered a space where kids were supplied with art materials every Saturday from about 2pm to 6pm. They had a lot of superhero books for references and he enjoyed every part of it. There were times when the overseer was late and a group of kids would show up on her doorstep to find out why she took so long, that's the kind of rapport and community they had established. Through high school he did Fine Art & Design as a technical subject. He also led art classes for kids at a community-based organization (Tazama Nia) every Saturday during holidays. Currently, Munyange is delving into conveying humor, jokes and puns into his art. He is obsessed with puns, music, poetry and word plays and he thinks a little humor, a little music plus his texture will make his work better