Kabi Kimari has been curious about how to get home and what home even is.
This work offers home as a place that you can continuously return to.
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What do the gates to your home look like, and do you have the keys, or have you swallowed them?
Do you know where home is?
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A gate to enter and a gate to exit.
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A gate that does both.
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Kabi was thinking about paths of desire and how they manifest. Through repetition and returning. Forms of fray. Highlighting the best way to get home. Or the most efficient way. Sometimes we have to clear the thorn bushes to find the path home, even if it feels easier to walk around them. Sometimes we need to bleed. Sometimes we don’t need to bleed, but the blood pours anyway. ​
Artist Biography​
Kabi Kimari is a 27-year-old portal maker based in Nairobi, Kenya. With a BA in Psychology, Kabi’s practice traverses multiple mediums, exploring worlds that blur the boundaries between the physical and the imagined. They are the co-curator of Metamour and Ujamaa, projects that center collaboration, transformation, and collective storytelling.
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Their work has been exhibited widely, including at Kamene Art Gallery and Kioko Art Gallery in Nairobi; Afropocene in Kampala; Munyu Gallery in Nairobi; Black 3rd Space in London; Little Gallery in Nairobi; Abacus Freshsaladart in Switzerland; QNSC in Bangkok for Elements of the Infinite Garden; and at Afrykamera in Warsaw for I Didn’t Come From Outer Space. I Came From The Future.
Kabi’s artistic journey has been recognized and featured in several publications, including Vogue Italia, Vogue India, Polaris, Tangaza Magazine, People’s Stories Project, and the Queer African Network.
They have participated in multiple residencies, including the Through The Window Project, Elements of the Infinite Garden, and the Nawiri Fellowship. Their engagement with learning and community practice includes attending workshops such as the Moving Image Workshop with Larry Achiampong, the Sculpting Workshop with Chelenge at the Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute, and the Zine Making Workshop with Nawi Africa.