Shamia Baraka is what you would call a strange, quirky, relentless art prodigy. What he does effortlessly is go on and on after his dreams without an ounce of slack.
He lauds his parents for their sacrifice to support his art, and if there is something that the One Off Art Gallery in Nairobi would take home from him, it is that he is a man who does not know when to stop knocking the damn door.
His current exhibition is titled "Retribution", a link-up play to the place he calls home and where his muse cooks, at a little village called Ileho in Kakamega town, that borders Kakamega Forest. Shamia’s mother tongue is nature's parlance.
From Retribution, Shamia brings out the inner morbidity inspired by the conflict between man, the system, and nature, and in all his narratives, nature always comes out on top. He has been drawing and painting for the last 28 years, a testimony to the support from his background.
“I don’t come from a rich background, and so when a parent decides to sacrifice basic household necessities to get you art supplies, it speaks volumes of their faith,” he says.
2016 was his breakthrough year into art, selling his first ever painting for Sh3,000 to his father's colleague. Last year, he sold a painting for Sh350,000, his best-seller.
Handful of Babies acrylic on canvas by Baraka Shamia at the One Off Contemporary Art Gallery in Gigiri, Nairobi on February 26, 2025.
Photo credit: Evan Habil | Nation Media Group
“This was the first time I was stepping in Nairobi. When I was in high school, I used to read a lot about the artists of the city, Mike Musyoka, Michael Soi who were the famous artists of that time. When I came to Nairobi, I wanted to meet and talk to them, which was difficult... But I needed to be where art was happening,” he says.
When he came to Nairobi, he didn’t have money to attend art events, and so he would wiggle around to events without purchasing a ticket; sometimes he would get nabbed.
It was during one of these errant escapades at the National Museum of Kenya that he caught the eye of Lydia Galavu, whom he credits as his first friend in the art scene in Nairobi. He was caught sneaking at an art show in the museum, and she bailed him out. She asked that he be directed to her office, and they had a chat. She called Patrick Mukabi (Panye) who is undoubtedly one of the most talented visual artists in the country, who saw his fire and gave him a space together with 20 other artists for free. And thus, Shamia started being a part of the Kenyan art scene. He then joined Kenyatta University, after which he dropped out because he felt that the school was not adding to his knowledge as an artist.
“I had everything the school was trying to give me. I am the type who goes out to talk to whichever artist... If Leonardo da Vinci was alive, I would probably be in his inbox asking questions because that is how I learn; the worst I can get is an ignored text."
After staying out of school for a while, he decided to go back and complete his studies, because of his nephews, who are creatives.
The Lion’s Ear acrylic on canvas by Baraka Shamia at the One Off Contemporary Art Gallery in Gigiri, Nairobi on February 26, 2025.
Photo credit: Evan Habil | Nation Media Group
Shamia's style has been largely influenced by Ileho in Kakamega, where he has a studio.
“In Ileho, you are so close to the forest, and there are politics between the community and the government. Every day when I am there, I experience a lot of animosity towards the community by the government. Kenya Wildlife Service and Kenya Forest Service usually beat up members of my community...just because they have been caught in the forest. There is no way the forest can exist without the community; the community, however, can exist without the forest. We all have to coexist in some way; we just need to regulate the mechanisms.”
“Women and their daughters are usually told to lie down, and they get flogged by men, some as young as myself. You can imagine flogging a 60-year-old woman. They usually come out of there bleeding, and some even come out dead...all because of getting firewood or hunting for food.”
“The government does more harm to the forest because we have acres of the forest being harvested and shipped out at night when nobody is seeing. All the animosity towards the community is a mere cover-up for these ills.”
His first exhibition was a protest against these irregularities, and Retrcbution is a buildup of the angsty theme of the ongoing conflict between the government, the community, and nature.
"Retribution" is an exploration by the artist on the subject of sin, life, and death from the birds-eye view of a studio that witnesses the rhythm of a community’s interaction with Kakamega Forest.
The artworks range from Sh30,000 to Sh390,000. It is inspired by the average thought of a member of the Isukha community living near the forest and the flow of nature.
“People are part of nature, and if you are not interacting with people, you are in no way interacting with nature.”
Retribution bears the imprint of a protest; it is advocacy on the plight of a community hard-pressed by an oppressive system that lacks the understanding of the symbiotic nature of nature and community.
It is art that is grotesque, as it is misunderstood. Shamia plays with dark colours like a personal imprint with a figurative theme, hidden on the layers of acrylic on canvas with just a dash of colour. He begs to be listened to.
