In her ongoing kanga project, the artist translates this rich textile tradition into striking blue-and-white cyanotype prints. Through her studio, Elewa, Elizabeth reinterprets the kanga as artwork for the home, retaining its traditional elements of borders, central motifs and misemo, but substituting fabric and dye with paper and photographic chemistry.

The indigo tones of cyanotype lend themselves beautifully to this reinterpretation of the kanga, echoing the blues of the Indian Ocean and the whites of breaking waves along the Swahili coast — a rhythm that has shaped Swahili culture for generations.

Elizabeth’s journey to art is as layered as her work. A human rights lawyer by profession, she first encountered cyanotype in her teens and explored it further in university photography courses. However, life led her in different directions. It was only in 2021, during her maternity leave with her fourth child, that she returned to this process. This year, following tremendous personal loss and the conclusion of her diplomatic career, she turned to her art as a means of healing and founded Elewa.

In Yoruba, her father’s language, Elewa means “beautiful one”; in Kiswahili, the language of her adopted home, Kenya, it means “understand”. These two meanings intertwine beautifully, reflecting both her life and her work — where beauty translates into understanding, and the kanga continues to communicate.

Elizabeth’s kanga series includes recent works Haki Huzaa Amani (“Justice Begets Peace”), Bahari Haikosi Mawimbi (“The Sea Is Never Without Waves”), Uzuri Wa Nyumba Ni Wageni (“The Beauty of a Home Is Its Guests”) and Nyumba Ni Mwangaza Wa Maisha (“Home Is the Light of Life”), together with earlier pieces Kila Kipepeo Huruka Na Mbawa Zake (“Every Butterfly Flies with Its Own Wings”) and Furaha Ya Mzazi Ni Mtoto Kucheka (“The Joy of a Parent Is in the Laughter of a Child”).

You can see more of Elizabeth’s cyanotype journey on Instagram and explore the Elewa portfolio here.