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I lay there pondering my situation, lost in the desert, and in danger, naked between sky and sand and stars, withdrawn by too much silence from the poles of my life.
From Wind, Sand, and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry -
In his first solo show “Pipes that Bind 2” with Montague Contemporary, Kenyan artist Paul Onditi presents new works made since the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Employing his signature, highly intensive techniques of layered oils, caustic acids, prints, and film, Onditi reimagines his long-standing “”Smokey” series, evolving his protagonist from the passive, stoic capitalist to better reflect the existential crisis and uncertainty faced during contemporary life.
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Paul Onditi’s recent body of work is a reflection on the cyclical and connected world within which we live. Onditi’s previous series, “Background,” notably presented at the Kenya National Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale, addressed the structural challenges we face as a society - geopolitical, economic, social, environmental - and the cyclical nature of these routine upheavals. With the return of “Smokey to the tableau” we are afforded a glimpse into how Onditi sees the individual human experience in relation to these issues playing out in the background.
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“Smokey” has always been Onditi’s ultimate protagonist - a stoic gentleman, trudging along in his tophat and trench coat, briefcase in hand, making his way through sordid landscapes fulfilling his daily routine. Smokey has historically been inherently solitary, mysterious, and at odds with his surroundings - unperturbed by the shortcomings of his ecosystem or the machinations of the state within which he exists.
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What makes this newest body of work so powerful is the coalescence of elements - our aloof egotist, his inhospitable environment, and the invisible ley lines that connect them all together. Our protagonist no longer remains agnostic to what's happening around him, with a crescendo in each piece of Smokey being notably more taken with his environment.
Now, Smokey appears to have transformed from a detached and indomitable character into an evocative persona that personifies how much of the world feels today - isolated, yearning for humanity, unproductive - in a vast barren landscape of uncertainty.
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In “All Before Me 2,” our gaze falls upon a man staring into the distance - arms upon hips, stripped bare, and lethargic in the face of his reality. Reminiscent of Lucian Freud, Onditi has transformed Smokey from a determined proletariat to mere mortal, exposing his raw state. What becomes painfully clear is that Smokey can no longer remain passive in the face of his environment - that there exists a co-dependency between individual and system, one that plays out in various dramas but remains an ever present reality.
In “Mediterranean Dream,” the unmistakable challenges confronting refugees as they flee their harsh geopolitical circumstances is juxtaposed against the blighted destination and tainted passageway - evoking a plea for commonality and interdependence rather than the pursuit of isolationism.
Onditi’s imaginative world has come full circle, portraying Smokey in a drama of societal and economic ley lines, interconnected systems that beg to be recognized but remain often hidden beneath the surface.
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We are one, after all, you and I, together we suffer, together exist, and forever will recreate each other.
― Teilhard de Chardin -
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About the Artist
Onditi’s practice challenges our understanding of both our cultural topography and the physical world within which we exist. Addressing universal themes of pollution, climate change, fragmented and unequal societies, and the degradation of our natural planet, Onditi’s practice eschews trendy identity politics to focus on endemic issues affecting all of humanity.
Working on his preferred canvas of digital polyester inkjet plates, Onditi is able to compose intricate and complex masterpieces portraying societal chaos and decay with a variety of oils, caustic acids, prints, and film. Seemingly intricate cityscapes give way to utter desolation, the degeneration aided by vibrant, almost radioactive luminosity suggesting our half-life is imminent. Evolving his historically isolated and anonymized “smokey” character from his previous works, we now experience social movements at scale – with anonymous figures in the plural navigating the treacherous landscape and realizing our co-dependance.
Ultimately, Onditi’s canvases remind the audience of what is at stake. Our collective existence is in the balance, the future malleable, the outcome uncertain.
Born in Kenya in 1980, Paul Onditi moved to Germany in 2000, where he studied art at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Offenbach am Main. In 2010 he returned to Nairobi, where he is currently living and practicing. Exhibitions include African Metropolis. An Imaginary City, Rome (2018), 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London (2018), Shifting Backgrounds, 50 Golborne, London (2018), Dak’Art Biennale, Senegal (2018), and VOLTA New York (2017).
PAUL ONDITI | THE PIPES THAT BIND 2
Past viewing_room
