Nairobi

When you see his pictures, you would never think that Charles Ngatia grew up in a slum. The first thing you think of is the Caribbean; it’s tranquil, sea-washed side because of the summery colours of blue, yellow, green, pink and sand he uses for his paintings, most oil on canvas. Until 26 November, the works of Ngatia can be viewed at the RaMoMa Museum of Modern Art on 2nd Parklands Avenue.

The life of a man who expresses himself in such images was not variegated, full of colour, even joyful. “I lived on the streets of Nairobi as a child and slept with friends in the slums,” says the 30-year-old. Charles Ngatia is a very quiet person who speaks as if he does not wish to disturb anyone. He smiles cautiously as he speaks and looks repeatedly at the picture that he is presently working on in his workshop in the Go-down factory in Nairobi’s industrial zone. Ngatia has been down, was at the very bottom, but now – in his quiet way – is on the way up.

He grew up with eight siblings in the slum. His father disappeared or died, “I don’t really know.” Ngatia attended school until the sixth grade when his mother was no longer able to pay. Alone with eight children, she was completely overtaxed, began drinking and became a serious alcoholic. Ngatia attempted to muddle through with other children in the slums, but the shy boy was not up to the merciless pecking order on Nairobi’s streets. He was one of the first children to come to Shangilia, a children’s home founded in the mid-1990s by filmmaker Anne Mungai in the Kangemi slums. Here children go to school and also are taught dance, music and acrobatics. Ngatia began an apprenticeship as automobile mechanic, but could not see it through. “The mechanic always called me an artist.” Ngatia smiles, but does not explain the nickname. He tried working as a street vendor, then completed a course as a security guard, but was not taken on, as he was too young. He was young, but courageous and in spite of his shyness, he apparently knew quite well what he did not want: to go under and lose his way.

Then, luck came his way like a reward. Ngatia painted the stage sets for the Shangilia children’s theatre and his talent came to the attention of the staff and visitors. He was given a place in the artists’ workshop of the Nairobi Museum, observed the other artists and began experimenting with all sorts of materials. This was followed by his first exhibitions at the Goethe-Institut, the museum gallery and the Contemporary Gallery of East Africa. “Nine years ago, I had to leave Shangilia because I was too old,” says Ngatia, who now lives in a slum again, Embakasi. “That is where I get the inspiration for my art. I look around, I paint. I give the pictures colour to enliven the slums.”

This year, with the help of the German couple Hans and Soli Dreckmann, friends of Shangilia, he held an exhibition in Cologne and sold every picture. “Sometimes I can make a living with art, sometimes I can’t.” Sometimes he can afford to have his paintings transported to a gallery and sometimes he can’t.

His paintings are not expensive. The small-sized works can be had for about 6,000 Kenyan shillings, or roughly 60 euros. The larger paintings, most measuring approximately 50 by 50 centimetres, cost between 12,000 and 35,000 Kenyan shillings. “My prices are small for they come from my heart,” claims the painter, who has not yet learned to like an entrepreneur. Not surprisingly, his dream for the future looks different: “In ten years, I want to be a famous artist with a comfortable life.” A life that began in the slums.

Charles Ngatia at the RaMoMa Museum of Modern Art, 2nd Parklands Avenue, open Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., free admission.

Swahili of the Day: Kwa juu means upwards.