Donna Kukama, 'Not Yet (And Nobody Knows Why Not)', 2008 | Public intervention

Approximately fifty-five years after fighting off the British in order to gain independence for Kenya, the Mau-Mau war veterans gathered in 2008 at Uhuru Gardens, in Nairobi to protest against the current Kenyan Government for its lack in recognizing their role in their country’s independence. The performance 'Not Yet (and nobody knows why not)' made use of this situation as a backdrop to speak of personal desperation as well as the unavoidable circle of seduction and war in politics. The passing crowd of 70 to 80-year- old war veterans would be seduced by a slow, sensual act of applying red lipstick to my lips, until the act soon transforms into an increasingly violent act of spreading the cosmetic product to the rest of my face and neck. As seemingly outrageous an act as it was, one or two people’s attention would be caught, and usually not for too long until they continued on their paths.

The same people gathered had been heroes of a certain era, and their significance in today’s life merely a fading memory. The unannounced performance/intervention lasted for over an hour.