The Artist Mika Obanda Exhibition 2026

A Pink Renaissance

Artist Statement

My half of the 'Pink Renaissance' series is a collection of intricate mosaics made with eggshells and acrylics. The colour pink has a dominant and very loud presence in most of the artworks. The work explores memory, reality, and a utopia I desire to live in. The color pink for me means power. The body of work is a reclamation of the power that was once taken away from me—the power that I was always looking for throughout my life. This is resistance: growing up as a boy in the Nairobi slums of Mukuru, love for bright colors came with a lot of stereotypes about the type of man you would turn into or grow to become. This reality made me suppress not only my love for the color pink but also my love for self.

For the past eight months, I have been working on these artworks inside my studio, 'Mika Atelier,' which I refer to now as a 'Pink Haven', at the heart of the slum I grew up in. The process of making these artworks had happiness and sadness engraved through the emotional process of handling trauma and creating joy within the dirt. Throughout the making of this body of work, I enjoyed mixing the shades of pink from the color purple to magenta and back to pink. This experience has made me see the beauty of the experience I have had in life. I know I cannot compensate for the times I missed this color, but at least I can create hope for myself and for my community through the shades of pink that I show in this body of work. 'Pink Renaissance' shows my past and future dreams within the beautiful shades of pink.

Made with love,

Mika A. Obanda

Candle Light Beauty

Eggshells and Acrylic on Board

34 x 38 cm

Kshs 40 000

Biography

Mika Obanda (1999) is a visual artist who was born and raised in the Mukuru kwa Reuben slums of Nairobi. Obanda is a former member of the 'Mukuru Art Collective'.

In 2024, the artist founded 'Mika Atelier', a space at the heart of the Mukuru slums that preserves culture through careful and honest visual storytelling. On June 15, 2025, the space was affected by a slum fire that consumed all the artworks. However, Obanda's resilience, combined with communal support, gave rise to the new look of the studio—a true haven for art .

Mika Obanda is mostly known for intricate mosaics made using eggshells on board. The artist sources these eggshells from local hotels and industries(notably Sarova Hotels and Supa Loaf Industries) and from friends who save waste eggshells after cooking. Mika creates mosaics by drying wet eggshells, painting them, and slicing the pieces using a scalpel blade. The artist then pastes them onto a piece of board along the sketch lines using a bamboo skewer, placing one particle at a time to form a crackle effect. Mika considers making mosaics to be an activity that pauses life for the duration of the creative process, which can stretch over weeks or months.

Obanda has a history as a human rights activist, creating notable work to raise awareness about the dangers of femicide. Through this practice, Obanda can openly say that the art serves as an archive of personal existence, translating lived experiences into visual form. Throughout five years of practice, the artist's themes have maintained an activist touch to spark meaningful debate.

'Pink Renaissance' is a significant, distinct, and unique body of work that merges memory, reality, and Obanda's utopia, bringing the focus to emotional and personal desires. Through this body of work, Obanda achieved a level of expression that doesn't set rules, but it invites you as you are to come view their brilliance with a skewer and particle of eggshell.

Artworks have been collected by the Sarova Panafric Hotel and notably in the personal collection of Jeff Koinange. This work has also been featured twice in consecutive years(2025 & 2026) by the BBC World Service 'In The Studio Documentary Podcast'.

Obanda has showcased art widely in Nairobi, creating a well-rooted name in Kenyan art culture while pushing boundaries of expressive art in the region. Exhibitions include:

2023: 'When I Think Of My Mom' exhibition at One-off Contemporary Art Gallery, curated by Carol Lees.

2024: 'The Commentary' art exhibition at Wajukuu Artist Collective, curated by Mbirua Nyambura and Ndung'u Kimani.

2025: 'Ministry Of Discovery' exhibition at House Of Friends gallery in the Kibera Arts District, curated by Jamey Ponte.

Obanda is currently preparing to show work at the Savanna Centre for Contemporary Art (SCCA) in Tamale, Ghana.