(Tuna Kiwango?: ‘Do we have standards?’ in Swahili)

The works in this series strive to reveal the individuals hidden behind the headlines about/from Africa. I have meticulously crafted newspaper covers that superimpose masks over portraits of African women, captured by exceptional African photographers. These covers feature six thought-provoking articles that aim to illuminate, critique, and educate on different aspects of the continent. They shed light on crucial topics that have been deliberately overlooked or distorted by much of the world when it comes to our narrative.

Base images used:

1: Untitled, 1962 by Malick Sidibé - Mali/Galerie Magnin-A, Paris

2: Young Wife and Mother, 1983 by Rachidi Bissiriou-Benin

3: La Jeune Malienne, 1970 by Sory Sanlé-Burkina Faso

4: Susane Adoun, Administrator of the then Sub-prefecture, 1973 by Rachidi Bissiriou - Benin

5: Belle de Jour, 1975 by Sory Sanlé - Burkina Faso

6: by Malick Sidibé-Mali

The ‘Am I African Enough? ‘ collection is a body of work in which I question my African identity as a born and bred Kenyan currently living in Germany. What is this ‘Africaness’ that I identify with? What makes me truly Kenyan? What makes me African enough?