Virtual Photography 20:20

We very much hope you will enjoy Virtual Photography 20:20. We have assembled works from 37 photographers, some of whom have considerable international reputations and some who are just starting out in their photographic careers.

One Off Contemporary Art Gallery thanks James Muriuki and Betty Press, both consummate professionals in this field, for their guidance and curatorial skills.

Unless stated to the contrary, all the works are available in an A4 format at the cost of USD 300. Each will be a signed artist’s proof. Delivery within Nairobi is free but where a courier service is required, the cost of this will be added. Once the work is paid for, One Off will liaise with you to agree paper finishes and delivery. We aim to print to the highest standard. All the photographs are also available in variable sizes and paper finishes by negotiation with the gallery. For Sales, please contact Carol Lees: oneoff@africaonline.co.ke

James Muriuki

James Muriuki is a Nairobi based art practitioner who has primarily used photography and lens-based media in his work. His practice constantly revolves around the transition of society through specific objects that are often the extension of personal and communal bearings. His works explore the confluence of inter-dependent happenings in an ever-changing social landscape. He uses forms such as architecture and construction as visual elements and metaphorical symbols. These are an illustration of human capacity, desire and aspirations.

He is also interested in experimenting with and investigating the potential of images; specifically photography and motion, video and sound. He uses these as mediums and processes for making art, ultimately as knowledge reservoirs and transmission channels. He has curated several exhibitions individually and collaboratively in Nairobi and abroad, related to the same subjects/ themes. In the past, he has held positions in the management of the arts and has taken a leading role in using photography, not only as a medium of complementing other mediums but also as a tool of communication and social transition.

James’ work has been exhibited and collected in many countries. It has been included in several publications. He has collaborated with artists, attended residencies and workshops in numerous countries as well as being a grants recipient. He has been commissioned to use photography in multiple capacities including the training of photographers, development of exhibitions and the curation of installations in commercial and office spaces.

He was involved in the production of the art magazine, Msanii, the artist book Layers, and contributed to the UNESCO publication, Documenting Living Heritage. Individually, he recently curated Frontiers of the present: Exploring new ideas in photography, Nairobi, Passing it on: Inventorying Living Heritage in Africa, Windhoek, among others. He has co-curated exhibitions, including In Memorium, Constructions, under the collective 3collect, of which he was a founding member. He is an alumni of the Museum of Modern Art, New York and Centre of Curatorial leadership fellowship and training.

Click thumbnail to enlarge and scroll through images of each photographer

James Muriuki - Untitled

James Muriuki - Travel Logs

Betty Press

Betty Press never expected to travel beyond the rural Nebraskan farm where she grew up. After graduating from university and working for a few years as a teacher she hitch-hiked around the world for two years with her husband.

Betty is well known for her photographs taken in Africa, where she lived and worked in Kenya from 1987 to 1995 and in Sierra Leone in 2008-09. Now living in Hattiesburg, Mississippi she continues to photograph in the USA, Central America and in Africa. She still considers Kenya her second home.

Her photographs have been widely-exhibited, selected for many juried competitions and added to many private and public collections. In 2011 she published an award winning photobook, I Am Because We Are: African Wisdom in Image and Proverb which captured a stunning, life-affirming portrait of the African people and culture.

In August 2019 she returned to Kenya to work on personal projects dealing with urban culture and social injustice.

She is represented by Panos Pictures, London; International Visions, Washington, DC; Fischer Galleries, Jackson, Mississippi; and One Off Contemporary Art Gallery, Nairobi, Kenya.

Betty Press - Lamu

Betty Press - Polaroid Transfers

Betty Press - Services Offered

Wambui Kamiru Collymore

“Hi Rajiv.” explores the line between intimacy, freedom and the mundane. The images are photographs taken on travels through wide-open spaces, with coordinates pin-pointing the exact location on Google Maps. On them is the mundane; lists scribbled for shopping to be WhatsApped to Rajiv, the manager at the local grocery store. In this weekly exchange, Rajiv gets intimate insight into what the artist’s home utilizes and about the personalities in her home. Through the items that the artist requests, Rajiv can also tell the mood of the house. It explores the relationship between strangers, who have never met but who find themselves in this situation because of social distancing.

The juxtaposition between the mundane and images of freedom demonstrates the desire to gain control of one’s movement and opportunities to do simple things such as shopping.