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Paint art has historically been used through time, places and moments to bring man closer to nature, to alert people about urgent ecological issues, question consumption and behaviour patterns. 

Environmental art has played a huge role in raising awareness on the dangers facing the planet and to promote its conservation. It has also been used to encourage communication and citizen participation to protect nature and incentivise political commitment to fight global warming and its impact.

One of such campaigns, include the protection of the ocean and marine ecosystems, which has through time been endangered by not only climate change, but also plastic pollution.

According to research by the World Bank, climate change is causing serious changes in oceans, including temperature increase, sea level rise, and acidification. Oceans are becoming more acidic as they absorb more carbondioxide from the atmosphere, and concurrently oxygen levels are decreasing.

The ocean, covering 71 per cent of earth has literally earned earth its name- Planet Blue, its pollution could result to man’s very extinction.

As the world recently marked the annual World Ocean Day, paint artists from all over the country came together at the Alliance Francaise Mombasa, for an exhibition showcasing some of their paintings aimed at creating awareness on the effects of plastic waste to the ocean and marine animals.

The Mombasa Ocean Festival 2023 exhibition called for the entries between May 24 and 28. With over 50 submissions, 15 artists from Nairobi, Lamu, Malindi Kilifi, Diani and Mombasa were approved for the exhibition themed ‘Celebrating Our Ocean’.

Mombasa-based lead artist, Yona Mudibo’s sculpture of longnose butterfly fish stole the show at the Mombasa Ocean Festival. This sculpture was commissioned by Alliance Francaise as the main art piece, created by Yona and wielder, Fredrick Otieno.

“The sculpture was inspired from a snorkelling experience I had with friends at Vipingo, where I saw the fish. It was something beautiful and I wanted to bring it outside for others to experience it too. I wanted to put on display the beauty of the ocean and to also show how plastic can be recycled into such beautiful artwork,” shared the artist who was also heading the exhibition.

The ocean ecosystem is so rich and diverse and with so much to explore, it becomes an adventurous playground for paint artists to explore. In the art world, the ocean has long been associated with exploration and the possibility of new beginnings, with seascapes being used to evoke a sense of freedom and adventure.

The constant movement of the waves and the changing tides can also be seen as a symbol of the passage of time and the impermanence of all things, and oil paint artist Kalama Kazungu’s pieces brought these aspects to the fullest at the exhibition.

His ‘Mystic grace’ painting told a story of the natural occurrence of things at sea, using colours, such as orange and red to indicate positivity and beauty. This is Kalama’s 12th exhibition since he started oil painting in 2013, under the mentorship of Yona Mudibo.

“My artwork at the exhibition was looking to show also the beauty that is out in the ocean and why it shouldn’t be destroyed, this is, especially why I did the ‘Undersea’ piece. People get to see things others haven’t seen out there under the sea. Art is impactful because it really shows what the artist wants to say, but with painting, because most of us are inspired by nature,” shared Kalama.

Among the 15 artists exhibiting at the Mombasa Ocean festival, included body artist Tumaini Deborah. While she is most popular for her unique Mandala patterns originating from both Hinduism and Buddhism, the artist was exploring something completely different for this year’s ocean celebrations.

“I decided to experiment with something different by doing some abstract work for this exhibition. This is paint work, but it allows the viewer to have their own interpretation of what the art is about, because well… life is like that, it’s different for everyone. I have three pieces.

Because the focus was on plastic recycling, I have incorporated compact discs, I found them very good to explore for my pieces,” she shares.

At the same time, Tumaini is calling on more paint artists to explore art for environmental awareness.
“It takes more than one man to change the community. As artists this is something you can explore and you get well paid for, more importantly, one piece of trash recycled into an art piece is one less trash in the ocean,” adds Tumaini.

Director Alliance Francaise Mombasa, Lucas Malcor said; “We wanted to organise this festival to be part of the environmental awareness fight. We targeted children, because they are the future generation, and thus important to sensitise them on the beauty of the ocean and how from a young age they can protect it. We also wanted to make it very fun, this is why we also had the fiesta, a day of joy and learning about the ocean.”