Michael W. Soi (1972) is a Kenyan artist
A hallmark of his art is his unique vision and highly distinctive style usually brightly-coloured paintings with black outlines that are illustrative in nature and are both playful and biting. They are informed by a strong tradition of cartoonists whose works have satirized Kenyan society since independence – often bravely poking fun at the political establishment.
独特的视角和独一无二的艺术风格是他的标志，颜色鲜艳，轮廓清晰，作品的表现力很强，俏皮又尖刻。有点儿像漫画。时常带着点政治讽刺意味。
Michael Soi做了一个关于他生活中的女人的展览
视频时长：
58秒
Trump meets Putin 2018
Acrylic on canvas
122 x 225 cm
China loves Africa 系列
肯尼亚艺术家 Michael Soi 的“中国爱非洲”系列以 74 件大胆的视觉作品，质疑了中国在非洲的地位。
随着中非关系在过去十年的发展，中国在外交、贸易、军事和软实力方面的努力越来越受到关注。有一些批评人士称此纯粹是基于“筷子重商主义”（ chopsticks mercantilism ）。
这让 Soi 等非洲艺术家有机会用自嘲式的幽默和创造力质疑两方的关系。“这个话题让我有很多疑惑。不幸的是，这不仅仅发生在肯尼亚。”Soi 说，“基本上是非洲领导人把非洲抵押给了中国人。”
“中国爱非洲”系列质疑了中国政府如何充分利用非洲的廉价劳动力、自然资源，以及非洲大陆对先进技术和基础设施日益增长的需求。Soi 将这些疑惑放在一起，这些作品既是社会评论，也是中国如何塑造肯尼亚和非洲未来的视觉日记。
在他的画中，中国被描绘成另一个全球大国，就像它的欧洲和西方前辈一样，它只从非洲获取资源，把国家束缚在债务之中，却不归还。
Soi 也超越了中非关系中常见的老生常谈，激起和挑战了观者。用裸体女性形象，他把非洲描绘成一个被中国从其他西方国家引诱走的女人。
但他表示，围绕与中国关系的小瑕疵进行创作，这是修复和平衡关系的第一步。否则，他说，“这是一个永远不会结束的非洲故事。”
China Loves Africa No. 68
Acrylic on canvas,
140 x 199.5 cm
Africa Union Chairman 2030
Acrylic on canvas,
150.5 x 190.5 cm
Best China Massage
Acrylic on canvas,
140 x 170 cm
China Loves Africa No. 65
Acrylic on canvas,
122 x 245.5 cm
China Loves Africa No. 66
Acrylic on canvas,
100 x 200 cm
China Loves Africa No. 69
Acrylic on canvas,
100.5 x 200.5 cm
The miracle worker. 2015
Acrylics mixed media on canvas
150 cm x 100 cm
“I want to create work that highlights women’s issues in Africa, particularly issues that relate to how men view women here and how they treat them. It isn’t an interesting topic for a lot of people who view my work due to the fact that people here would rather not talk about this. They would rather bury their heads in the sand and pretend that these things do not happen. This work highlights the role that has been assigned to women as implements of joy, pleasure and a means to an end to
be enjoyed by men
. This is a subject that I have had an interest in for a while now and the aim is to influence how men view and relate to women.”
他的作品主要关注非洲的女性，尤其是男人眼中的女性以及他们怎么对待她们。不过从作品中也可以看到这里的女性和男性不只是性别意义上的概念。
©
Michael Soi
