Elevate at 21c: Moraa N. Nyaribo

Elevate at 21c showcases the work of artists in St. Louis and the central Mississippi River region, highlighting the range and depth of visual culture in this dynamic, ever-changing area. 

Throughout this exhibition Moraa N. Nyaribo, Marina Peng, Hannah Sanders, and Blake Sanders express how intergenerational memory and knowledge create foundations for their paths through the world. Parts of these foundations are strong but stand apart from the contemporary world, which often focuses only on the present; other parts may be faded or lost. Using traditional, craft-based techniques of weaving, braiding, crocheting, and embroidery with contemporary materials and forms, each artist uses time and labor to celebrate and also break with the past. Tactile threads woven by hands create patterns and materials anew, but familiar over generations.  

The artists articulate their presence in this specific moment and place, establishing a dialogue that links past traditions with future generations. Nyaribo, a Kenyan immigrant, is exploring her Kisii heritage in response to her life and experiences in the United States. As a child in Kenya, some knowledge from past generations was intentionally erased or forgotten through post-colonial modernity, religious belief, and misunderstanding of traditional ways.

Outward appearance, either of hair or dress, is referenced in each of the artworks. Nyaribo and Peng both explore the politics and intimacy of hair. Works from Nyaribo’s series Assorted Hair Works acknowledge and celebrate Black joy and the personal and cultural expressions possible through hair styles. Says the artist, “hair has been a fixture of black global culture anywhere you go. It’s been a way for us to communicate.”

Each artist references what is hidden in comparison to what is shown. In Nyoteyo, Nyaribo shares a family portrait as a woven blanket, but with the center of the image almost completely obscured. The artist shares the story of her great grandmother, Nyoteyo, who arrived for the family portrait in her traditional leather skirt. The family had her wear a cotton dress for the photo, but Nyoteyo insisted her feet remain bare, the only part of the matriarch Nyaribo allows us to see.

Moraa N. Nyaribo
Moraa N. Nyaribo uses cultural, visual language to reference her Kisii heritage, and tell family narratives from the near and distant past – from weekends spent with her mother braiding hair or designing fashions to ancient traditions meant to honor ancestors and provide spiritual protection. Through her practice, she creates an environment for preserving these traditional practices through textile explorations that recreate the textures, shapes, and overall feeling experienced by the people — investigating classical African body adornment as a means of self-expression and aesthetic representation: recentering Blackness.