Shilpi Deb (Kenya) Residence: February 2020

Shilpi was born and raised in Kenya, she received her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts from Sir JJ school of art in Mumbai – India (2017), with a specialization in Painting (Portraiture and Drawing). She has set up a practice in Nairobi as a multi disciplinary visual artist, painting, print- making, illustrating and art directing. Her work is usually abstract and loosely representational. It is more about the initial translation. Medium and style come after, more of as a by-product that arises from saying what has to be said. shilpideb.carbonmade.com

Being brought up in Africa, studying Art in India and being interested in Japanese culture from an early age, she developed a fascination with African and Asian culture. During her years in Mumbai, she carried out research within these fields, focusing on aesthetics and philosophy, eventually chancing upon the subject of Animism. This spurred her to dive deeper into its roots and ties to the artist. It helped shape her outlook on art and life, the two things that we know to be inseparable. She wants to absorb her experiences in Japan and get a more intimate look at Animism as she explores her project “First Limb, First Canon”. Most importantly, she feels it is about changing her perceptions one at a time by remaining aware during her practice, slowly learning with every piece and letting each response guide her, just as if it had a life of its own.