Cyrus Kabiru currently practices in Nairobi. He is a self taught painter
and sculptor. His paintings are often humorous portrayals of
contemporary living within Kenya. Kabiru adopts the role of a
flâneur, the observer, explorer, and lounger using his paintings as
the output for his experiences. His sculptural work embodies his role
as a “collector” of Nairobi cast offs. Kabiru fashions and
refashions these waste, recycled, and found materials into various
forms. Currently he is focusing on a series that depicts African
nature using thousands of bottle caps sewn together. He is perhaps
best known for his C-STUNNERS, an ongoing work which where Cyrus
creates and wears artistic bifocals. The work sits itself between
fashion, wearable art, performance, and one of a kind commodity
objects. C-STUNNERS have a certain energy and playfulness that really
captures the sensibility and attitude of a youth generation in
Nairobi. They portray the aspiration of popular culture bling; they
reflect the ingenuity and resourcefulness of people; the lenses
provide a new filter giving a fresh perspective onto the world that
we live in transforming the wearer not only in appearance but in mind
frame as well.
