A 'modern masterpiece' paints pandemic chaos on cloth made of fig-tree bark

by Kenyan-British painter Michael Armitage,was inspired by an attack on ferry passengers by paramilitary police in Nairobi. The painting hangs in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Jonathan Muzikar/The Museum of Modern Art, New York hide caption

toggle caption Jonathan Muzikar/The Museum of Modern Art, New York

The painting is as dazzling as it is unsettling, not only by virtue of its monumental size (8' 2 1/2" x 11' 5 7/8") but also its boisterous colors and panoramic view of figures in motion. As your gaze goes from left to right, you see a mass of people, many in white face masks, surging forward; bodies and angry faces hurtling through the air; an enraged, open-mouthed, disembodied face; reddish coral-colored whorls that look like angry, bloody whips.

What is going on here?

Kenyan-British artist Michael Armitage painted while moving between Nairobi and London during the COVID-19 pandemic. The work is a response to in the port city of Mombasa, Kenya, when passengers, unable to board severely overcrowded ferries in time to meet a government-imposed curfew, were beaten and tear-gassed by paramilitary police. According to curator Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi of the Museum of Modern Art, where the work now hangs, it is nothing less than "an apocalyptic foreboding that transcends the specific event in Mombasa to reflect the global upheaval and uncertainty of the pandemic moment."

Michael Armitage is award a South Bank Sky Arts Award for his 2021 exhibition, at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, featuring his paintings as well as 31 influential works by East African artists. Dave Benett/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption Dave Benett/Getty Images

Michael Armitage is award a South Bank Sky Arts Award for his 2021 exhibition, at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, featuring his paintings as well as 31 influential works by East African artists.

Dave Benett/Getty Images

Born in Nairobi in 1984, Armitage studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and the Royal Academy Schools in London. His work is known for its diverse influences from African art, Western art and current political and social events. Armitage paints on cloth, which is made from fig-tree bark, in part to ground his work in East African history. His widely acclaimed work has been exhibited in museums and galleries in Europe, Africa, Australia and the United States. In 2020 he founded the non-profit Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute (NCAI) to promote contemporary art from East Africa and opened an exhibition space in Nairobi. NPR interviewed Armitage via email to find out more about his work. The interview has been condensed for clarity and space.

What is the story behind your painting, ?

was made over a two-year period. [It] depict[s] a moment of trauma. On the first day of the first curfew that the Kenyan government put in place to restrict movement of people and help stem the spread of COVID-19, workers traveling back home from work were caught out at a ferry crossing. The curfew meant the number of people trying to use the ferry was unusually high, too high for the capacity of the ferries. Hundreds of people were waiting to get a ferry and did not make it home in time for the curfew. The police at the Likoni ferry crossing started "punishing" the commuters for breaking the curfew. Police made the commuters squat or lie on the ground, then many of them were whipped or beaten as they waited for a ferry to take them home.

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