Step Inside the Afrofuturist World of Osborne Macharia
Explore the work of renowned fictionaut and Afrofuturist who is a master of creating alternate black universes.
No Touch Am (2017) by Osborne MachariaOriginal Source: African Artists Foundation
No Touch Am is a song by Kenyan musician, Bill Sellanga and Nigerian singer-songwriter, Nneka Egbuna. Osborne Macharia directed a short film for the song in association with African Artists Foundation. The video was shot in Lagos, Nigeria, using AAF's own and partner locations.
Fictionaut and Afrofuturist
Osborne Macharia is a self-taught photographer and visual artist born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya and based in Vancouver, Canada. His style of photography fall within the genre of Afrofuturism, which he describes as; an artistic repurpose of the post-colonial African narrative through integrating historical elements, present culture and future aspirations of people of colour by using Narrative, Fantasy and Fiction to re-imagine a New Africa. Osborne Macharia explores cultural identity and fiction through his art. His work touches themes of equality, inclusion, representation, gender abuse, ivory poaching, FGM, albinism, dwarfism, conservation and care for the elderly. He has collaborated extensively with the African Artists Foundation.
No Touch Am (series)
This is the story of 3 Hausa herbal men and animal charmers from the Northern State of Katsina in Nigeria, turned stylish protectors of the forest. The wild animals they once domesticated and used as domestic pets (a tradition passes down from their ancestors) are now expert trackers. Now both man and beast roam the forests at night seeking out illegal firewood harvesters while protecting indigenous flora. Little is known about them till now…
No Touch Am - (series) by Osborne MachariaOriginal Source: African Artists Foundation
No Touch Am (series) by Osborne MachariaOriginal Source: African Artists Foundation
Kabangu (series)
Watchmen by night, Hip hop heads by day. This is the story off 4 gentlemen in the heart of Kariobangi (one of Nairobi's informal settlements) who call themselves KABANGU. A group of real hip hop heads from the 80's who meet up regularly to educate and mentor upcoming young talent venturing out into the hip hop industry.
Kabangu (series) by Osborne MachariaOriginal Source: African Artists Foundation
Kabangu (series) by Osborne MachariaOriginal Source: African Artists Foundation
Mengo (series)
Mengo is not like other fight clubs; Its fighters are exclusively people of short stature.No one knows who owns or runs the secretive, highly organized underground fight club. It’s been said that it is an elite wealthy group of former fighters that sponsors and manages the network. All we know is that attendance is by invitation only and an invite means you have to fight.
Mengo (series) - Mrefu by Osborne MachariaOriginal Source: African Artists Foundation
Mende
Mrefu is the immediate former world mengo champion. He first got into the fight club when he was 5. He spent his entire first decade getting beaten, until he picked a fight with mende, then the champion of the ring. Songs are still sung of how mrefu the brave finished off mende the beast with a blindingly fast volley of slaps delivered by a hand covered with a metal chain.
Mende never saw them coming, and he never recovered from this defeat. Actually, to this day, no one has ever recovered from "Vibare soo!", Mrefu's finishing move.
Mengo (series) - Sonko by Osborne MachariaOriginal Source: African Artists Foundation
Sonko
No one knows where Sonko came from but one day, he sneaked into the mengo ring and asked for an opponent. Quiet, focused, and fluid in the ring, Sonko moves like the fight is a dance.
He has held the world championship three times in his decade in mengo, and is most famous for his finishing move, "Bladaa!" it is a sneaky club attack that forces the opponent to back away instinctively, giving sonko the chance to head butt them so hard that they lose consciousness
Mengo (series) - Mangaritos by Osborne MachariaOriginal Source: African Artists Foundation
Mangaritos
No one knows where mangalitos came from, but everyone knows he has lived in the ring longer than anyone else in the mengo underworld. He was among the first ten, an elite group that founded the mengo fight clubs.
Now he strides across the underworld as the only person to have ever held all championship tiles. With his fading eye sight, his precious lantern is what guides him home.
Mengo (series) - Dudus by Osborne MachariaOriginal Source: African Artists Foundation
Dudus
Dudus is the rain of pain! She is armed with a heat-seeking fare (sling shot) and an insatiable thirst to inflict pain on all her opponents. In the ring, Dudus is incredibly fast and tirelessly focused. By the time she begins the rain of pain, the fight is already over.
First introduced to the ring when she was 10, Dudus is a legend in the mengo underworld. She is the reigning world champion; her path to victory colored with the screams of her opponents.
Director:
Azu Nwagbogu
Curatorial Direction:
Philip Fagbeyiro / Tolulope Odeyemi
Curatorial Text/Editor:
Philip Fagbeyiro / Tolulope Odeyemi
Artists:
Osborne Macharia
