The HOF Gallery sticks out like sin in a citadel. Amidst the rubble around and the iron shanties flanking it, she stands tall in her whitewashed poise, offering shelter to a series of works by five gentlemen; Jeremiah Onyango, Ramadhan Said, Samson Otieno, Lucas Oyugi and James Irungu, born and bred in the underbelly of Kibera slums.
For a long time, Kibera's overriding narrative has been its squalor, its pallid state has been a constant billboard for fund drives that do little to help the community.
It has been pandered as an offering basket that fills the bellies of few and its image of a poverty riddled dumping heap is the story running the headlines.
The artists capture moments that would seem irrelevant in real life but when frozen on still, they are timelessly beautiful.
The ongoing photo exhibition has been dubbed A Beautiful Slum, a defiant rhetoric by Kibera's sons who want it to be seen in a different light bearing in mind they rub shoulders with it every day. A Beautiful Slum is a collaborative work by artists choosing to highlight snippets of beauty beyond the collective rust and rubble.
James’ body of work is set in black and white, and it showcases the mundane daily life in Kibera.
From a mother and a child walking in the rain and sheltering under polythene bags to a foggy panoramic view of the entire slum, James has a keen eye for the nuanced detail and has lenses that gloss ash into pure gold, of course in sepia colours.
His collage in the exhibition brings the nostalgia of a 60’s newspaper cutout where his subjects sit within frames that are defiant of time and place.
Ramadhan, a Nubian by heritage chose to highlight a dowry ceremony happening in the Nubian community in the slum which is his version of its beauty.
Lucas Oyugi's portrait of a pastor preaching at the exhibition 'A Beautiful Slum' at the HOF Gallery in Kibera, Nairobi on February 12, 2025
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
“We usually carry our dowry on our heads as we move in the streets,” he says pointing to a picture of a dowry procession.
Every aspect of the courtship is public event showcasing the togetherness of the community and the openness of the process.
His art work details the intricate aspects of the Nubian community courtship process in a structural segment, from the religious aspect, the wedding deco and the ensuing ceremonies and parties.
He points to a small mat and table at the footstool of his exhibition, explaining that every couple is gifted the two, which is where they eat, solve their disputes and ideally, where intimacy usually begins.
He adds, “A long time ago childbirth used to happen on these mats. When a woman dies, the mat is used to cover her body as it is being taken to the mosque and grave and upon burial, it is returned back to the house. It is a significant part of the Nubian culture.”
“The Nubian community is all about cohesiveness and togetherness. If you cannot contribute money you can always contribute your time and expertise in such events,” he says.
Ramadhan says that divorce, however isn’t a big deal in the community. One can divorce their spouse and go on with their life as usual, unlike most African communities, Nubian divocees don't suffer stigma.
“What matters most is usually presence and support,” he expounds.
Lucas’s work focuses more on landscape and the spaces in Kibera and how these two portray the people. From the trains used as a means of transport to a portrait of the burning of Toi Market and residents helping the fire brigade to put out the fires, his pictures have a candid intimacy to them in their showing of the aspects of slum life he considers beautiful.
His focus on beauty extends beyond what the eye can see. From a vigil of someone he didn’t know but appreciated the support he was given by strangers to a street dog guarding a chunk of meat, the imagery in his pictures is almost illusionary when married with perspective.
Portrait pictures of children salsa dancing displayed at the exhibition 'A Beautiful Slum' at the HOF Gallery in Kibera, Nairobi on February 12, 2025
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
Religion is a core foundation of the Kibera community and it is no surprise that the men of the cloth find themselves on display. Preachers here marry people, they grieve with families and even solve disputes, undeniably they are core the existence of a misunderstood society.
Samson’s approach to the exhibition is simple but profound.
“I decided to be a part of this exhibition because most stories about Kibera are always sad and negative. I wanted to show the positive things happening in the neighborhood,” he says.
“I decided to show ballet classes happening in Kibera because most people usually associate them with bourgeoise uptown communities and not places like Kibera.”
Samsons pictures are mounted murals of ecstasy and glee. They show little girls in ballet gear twirling and turning on mats spread on hard baked ground.
The pictures are conveners of strong emotions that cannot remain imprisoned in a frame. They bring out the joy of a community that is getting the best of a different world, and hanging onto the joy of a moment because beautiful moments create lifetime stories.
