Wolfson’s latest art exhibition, ‘Feel the Rhythm’, launches

Fungai Benhura is a visual artist whose paintings are made up of multiple layers of different, and often found materials. He studied at the Royal Academy Schools, an experience that he says has been a highlight of his artistic career so far. He started drawing at a young age, but held ambitions of being an engineer rather than an artist.

Fungai is the latest winner of the Wolfson Royal Academy Schools Graduate Prize, which comes with the opportunity to exhibit work in the College's Combination Room. The Graduate Prize and its associated exhibition were set up by Dr Meredith Hale (then a Fellow at Wolfson), Brian Griffiths RA, and Eileen Cooper RA. Previous winners are Mark Corfield-Moore, Débora Delmar, Irini Bachlitzanaki, Hannah Lister, and Enej Gala. As with all our exhibitions, we aim to foster meaningful connections between the arts and other disciplines and to initiate dialogue about the arts both within and outside the University.

Fungai decided to pursue art at the age of nineteen. He said, "It wasn't easy at first because I didn't know how to go about it, but then I had a very good teacher at college who started showing me artists that were kind of similar to what I like. That did help, because then I felt like, 'Oh okay, at least I'm similar to these guys.'"

Fungai's paintings have a powerful ability to associate; they suggest palimpsests, changing architecture, archaeological restoration, and the reconstruction of histories. The end product unveils a painting that has a character and personality of its own. The artworks are created through a hands-on process involving accumulation, painting and removal.

"In the paintings here, there's paper, there's paint, and even wood. In each layer that I put, it's a different material, and when you put it all together, in the end, it's a surprise, because I don't know if it's going to work or not until I start scratching. That's when I discover whether it's a failure or it's a success."

Some of the more unusual items that Fungai has used in his work are bottle caps and beer cans. He explains, "I like to hide stuff. I mean, not on purpose, it’s just that I don't want people to pick things up straight away. It's there, but it's also not there – it's forcing you to engage with it. I like archaeology, so it's like when you dig through and you keep on digging, you think you've found something, but you realise it's still going until the whole thing comes out."

Fungai describes his work as 'organised chaos', drawing similarities between the way he paints and the constantly changing nature of jazz music. He listens to artists like John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Charlie Parker while he works, bringing every song that he listens to into the piece. "When I'm painting or scratching, when the music stops, I stop as well. When the beat goes high, you can see where the mark making is intense. Then when it slows down, I also slow down. Because most of the time, with jazz, there's no one singing. It's just the sound. So I'm hearing the sound, and I'm thinking about things, and I'm then adding those things to the sound. And then it becomes something else."

Details

‘Feel the Rhythm’ is open to the public and free to attend, running until 27 April and is open every Saturday and Sunday, except for days with special events, so please call ahead when visiting.

A launch event will be held at 17.30 in the Combination Room on Tuesday 11 February where Fungai will be in conversation with Brian Griffiths RA, a Senior Lecturer at the Royal Academy Schools, followed by a drinks reception.

Book your place to attend.