Tabitha wa Thuku

Tabitha WA Thuku is the pseudonym that Tabitha Waithera Mburu uses when she paints. She was born in Kiambu district, and has been a visual for twenty years.

I get impatient with the facades women present to deal with male domination. I prefer meeting with them with all guns blazing; using all the tools at her disposal to make space for her freedoms. Wathuku sees the artist as a bearer of messages from a place beyond them. For her the making of art is guided by a spirit, a message that comes upon the artist, and does not let go until the work is complete.

When I work, I don't want to see anybody. I just want to be alone. And at one time, am heated up so much that I cannot even sleep. I don't want to do anything to interrupt the message.