From war to canvas: How art helped two women heal

At the heart of Nairobi’s Kemet Art Gallery, two artists, Kenya’s Sheila Bayley and Sudan’s Ythreb Hassan brought their deeply personal and evocative works together in a duo exhibition, ‘Confluence of Forms’.

The exhibition, which ended this past Sunday, was more than just a showcase of artistic talent; it was a window into two lives shaped by identity, grief, and survival.

Sheila Bayley, a Kenyan painter, displayed three striking series, ‘They Are Watching’, ‘Homegrown’, and ‘Green Tea’. Each series reflects her journey, her growth, her struggles, and the idea of belonging.

In ‘They Are Watching’, she captured the weight of self-doubt and the past's influence on the present.

Towering human figures loom over smaller ones, representing her past insecurities and her challenges as an artist.

“The big figures are the versions of my past, self-doubt and the obstacles I encountered when starting my career. All these figures come together to shape who I am now,” Sheila explains.

With ‘Homegrown’, she explores identity and belonging as a mixed-race Kenyan. Her work challenges the perception of home, advocating for inclusivity in Kenya’s diverse cultural fabric.

“I wanted to focus on what makes us feel at home and emphasize that Kenya is diverse. Even though we come from different backgrounds, we must embrace each other,” she says.

Perhaps the most personal of all, Green Tea is a poignant tribute to her late sister, who lost her battle with cancer.

In the piece, smaller figures draped in black hang below Sheila and her sisters, embodying grief and healing.

“It is about my experiences with my sisters and the pain of losing one of them. We were very close, and her passing affected me deeply. Tea was always our moment of comfort, and even now, it helps me heal. It’s a cure for my heart,” she shares.

Every figure in Sheila’s work is a reflection of herself, expression of her emotions, experiences, and evolving perspective.

While Sheila’s work is rooted in personal introspection, Ythreb Hassan’s art emerges from the brutal reality of war.

The Sudanese artist, who fled her war-torn country two years ago, channels her trauma into her powerful acrylic paintings.

Her piece ‘You Are Bound to Die’ captures the horror she lived through, her family hiding under a bed as militia gunfire shattered their world. A woman’s face, painted in black, reflects the sheer terror of that moment.

“We thought we were going to die. The bullets were everywhere,” she recalls.

In ‘Words About Us’, she tells the story of constant displacement. Moving from city to city in search of safety. A portrait of a woman in utter horror embodies the fear and uncertainty she endured.

When her aunt was killed in the ongoing war, grief took over her canvas. In ‘What’s Going on is My Fault’, her subject is cloaked in red, a traditional mourning colour in her culture.

“According to our customs, we wear red when someone is killed. This piece was my way of remembering my aunt,” Ythreb explains.

Describing her work as aggressive, she says it was born amid chaos. Even though she found temporary refuge in Kenya eight months ago, the emotional scars of war remain.

“I don’t think I am human. I get psychosocial support and live like everyone else, yet I don’t feel alive. The violence robbed me of that. Even though I survived, I am not alive,” she confesses.

Through Confluence of Forms, Sheila and Ythreb presented a fusion of personal grief and political turmoil, using art as a language to process pain, loss, and resilience.