By Nanjinia Wamuswa
Thousands of yellow balloons blowing in the dull Monday morning sky put a smile on surprised city residents’ faces.
As he got out of a commuter bus, Gilbert Sabwa was handed a balloon and not knowing what to do with it, he nearly returned it to the giver before realising everyone had one. He joined in the cheer.
City residents marvel at sight of free balloons. Associated with celebrations, balloons make people instantly happy. The man behind the idea, Tazmany Arboleda (left) says it is an artistic expression. Photos: Nanjinwa Wamuswa/Standard |
That was exactly what the idea was about: An artistic way of banishing Monday blues by giving out balloons.
As people kept receiving the balloons, matatu driver Joseph Macharia left his vehicle revving in the jam as he reached for a bunch of balloons.
Without a word, gave to each of his passengers. The heavy morning traffic had left many of Macharia’s passengers grumpy.
But as soon as they received the yellow gifts, they mellowed and started a lively conversation and laughter filled the vehicle.
They burst
For street children, it was also a joyous day as they gleefully kicked and pressed the balloons till they burst.
Giving out 10,000 bright yellow balloons to city dwellers with a request they hold onto them to their places of work was Yazmany Arboleda’s idea to launch a ‘Monday Morning’ art exhibition.
Arboleda, 30, an American contemporary and multimedia artist, says the "non-choreographed parade of yellow balloons" in the city transformed an ordinary Monday morning into a sequence of unexpected celebrations.
"Figuratively, balloons represent celebrations. They make us think of happy moments."
The artist, who is volunteering with Nairobi Arts Trust and Kuruka Maisha, a children’s rehabilitation centre, says the art installation is meant to encourage people to talk with each other.
Art teacher Patrick Mukabi says many artists ‘isolate’ themselves from the community in their works. "This is different because the public is involved. Artists fail to understand they come from a society that also needs to be educated on what is going on in the world of art," he says.
Back to the people
Nick Olango of Kuruka Maisha says: "It actually enlightens. He’s taking art back to the people."
Arboleda says his art engages his audience.
"My artwork moves people to think, question, discuss and react. They think about the purpose of their lives and their values as well as meaning. That is my greatest achievement."
Sometimes, however, people misinterpret his creativity such as in 2008 when he was arrested and detained briefly by New York City police and Secret Service agents for his exhibition, The Assassination of Hillary Clinton/ The Assassination of Barack Obama in Manhattan.
Arboleda says it was harmless, but to those who don’t appreciate art, it was dangerous and ‘could incite someone to do something crazy’ as the Secret Service put it before they released him on condition he removed the exhibition title from the window.
Nairobi is the third city and first in Africa in these sequence of exhibitions.
In the past year, Arboleda has done similar expressions and gave out thousands of orange balloons in Bangalore, India, and green ones to dwellers of Yamaguchi, Japan. He changes colours with each exhibition and place.
He chose yellow for Nairobi because the colour represents the sun, the colour of Africa, he says.
In India, orange represented the colour of Hindu high priests while green represented Japan’s landscape and technology.
After the Nairobi installation, which cost him more than Sh500,000, Arboleda plans to move to Europe and America.
