Elias Thuo (1949–2011)
Matatu, Ngong Road, 1978
Linocut printed in black and red on paper
Sheet 50 × 65 cm; image 40 × 55 cm · From the edition of 30
Estimate KES 80,000–120,000
Bidding
Not sold
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About the work
A matatu packed to the doors on the Ngong road, seen from behind as it pulls away: passengers ride on the back step, luggage is piled on the roof rack, and the driver leans out of his window into the crowd. Thuo printed the red, the matatu's painted stripe and tail-light panels, from a second block.
Condition
Good. Light toning to the sheet, margins intact.
Provenance
Acquired from the artist, Nairobi, circa 1980; by descent to the present owner.
The artist
Thuo cut linoleum blocks of Nairobi's crowds for thirty years: matatus packed to the doors, the cloth stalls of Gikomba, queues at the bus station. He printed in black, sometimes with a single second colour, on a hand press in his house in Kaloleni, in editions that rarely went beyond thirty. His prints were sold for years from a table outside the post office on Moi Avenue.
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