Kenya; be it her vast plains, high peaks, dense forests, or varieties of wildlife; it is a country that is renowned for its beauty. But for young Mandeep, the human side of this landscape wasn’t quite so intriguing. ‘As a child growing up in 1980’s Kenya, television, music and fashion were lightyears behind compared to other countries… people were never permanent in place due to the nature of their work…’ she tells me.
So, bored with the world within, Mandeep became increasingly fascinated with the one that existed outside. ‘My vivid imagination would take me to places far beyond the hot, cracked red soil, creating a playful world in outdoor dens made from metal pick-up truck frames sheltered from the equatorial sun by a canopy of laundry drying out.’ Interestingly, perhaps even ironically, however, the place Mandeep was attempting to escape from would be the very thing that would inspire her to become an artist, as she explains: ‘that landscape would nurture me and become my constant throughout the seasons of my adult life… it would also lead me to pursue a Fine Art degree and to slowly realise my dream of becoming a professional artist, where I could teach and share my practice with generations young and old’. It is an enchantment with the natural world that encompasses the very essence of her artworks today.
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