Walking into April Kamunde’s latest exhibition feels like stepping into a retreat, a gentle space swaying to the rhythm of rest and reflection.
Titled Fabric of Our Being, the exhibition explores themes of rest, solitude, and sensuality, portraying African women in intimate moments of stillness.
It is currently on show at The African Arts Trust and runs until August 2.
Kamunde’s work focuses on figuration, with paintings of women sprawled across Alindi fabric on the grass, sunlit legs folded in serenity, faces covered by books, or quietly squatting in nature.
“The titles of these pieces show the personalities of the sitters of my work. They are women that I know, and that was important to me since it felt like a collaboration,” she explains.
Among the standout pieces are Pausing is Also an Action and Ota Jua Tuliza Roho; Even the Grounded Need Grounding, both powerful statements on the importance of slowing down.
The artist has spent the past two years working on a broader series, Rest: The Pursuit of Peace, framing African women not in passivity but as being fully present.
With Fabric of Our Being, she expands the conversation by incorporating not just paintings, but fabric installations, video, and sound.
One of the key installations, Two Truths Can Exist at Once, uses two dera fabrics inscribed with contrasting public opinions about the garment, symbolizing the complex identities of East African women.
“The exhibition describes the essence of the East African woman,” Kamunde says.
“As we navigate our experiences, we dance between contradictions. For example, I can climb up the corporate ladder and still want to be in stillness. It’s about navigating the opposing ends of the scale.”