When thinking of emerging Kenyan artists transforming the face of contemporary African art, none other comes to mind quicker than Theresia Kyalo – the artist who shape-shifts across different art forms to craft medium-defying designs. In 2019, the twenty-six year old artist first stunned the Kenyan creative industry with Body Pieces, her debut collection of handcrafted brass jewellery. In the three year victory lap since, her budding career has evolved into a professional biography that boasts features of her jewellery in Beyonce’s Black Is King and collaborations with prominent African jewellers such as Adele Dejak. With each collection, Kyalo’s enduring love affair with textile experimentation continues to leave fans and followers curiously transfixed.

Her maximalist, symbol-heavy designs have led to frequent comparisons with indegenous African jewellery that often features complex headgear and face coverings. “I gravitated towards materials like brass and horn based on what was readily available to me and what that meant to me culturally”, Kyalo explains. A quick glance at her instagram page invites deep appreciation of her ancestors’ influence on her artistry. One of her posts includes an image of her popular Adinkira earrings, inspired by symbols of the Akan (Ghana) and Gyaman (Côte d’Ivoire) tribes. In contrast to what conventional jewellers present to us, Kyalo’s designs point to the relational potentiality between jewellery and cultural archiving. “I not only look within my own heritage but I try to cross-reference ideas across other African cultures. African artists don’t exist within a creative vacuum, so fostering [a] community is important if we want to keep our customs alive”, she says.

Kyalo’s meteoric rise within the Kenyan creative industry foreshadows her stake as a key industry player. We caught up with the young designer to highlight how she is leaving her mark in the Kenyan creative community, one design at a time.   

AMAKA: How would you describe your aesthetic as an artist and what do you think makes your artistry unique?

TK: My work is bold, modern, experimentative and minimalistic. I don’t like working in a linear nature so I work by simultaneously presenting my work in different mediums. That presentation could manifest through jewellery or line drawings. That’s what makes my work unique. 

AMAKA: I’ve been following your creative journey for quite some time now. In past interviews, you disapproved of being labelled a jeweller. Could you please explain this hesitancy?

TK: I am an artist first and foremost, and I branch into different types of art within that creative work. I think people are more likely to perceive me as a jeweller because it’s the work I’m most visible for. It just so happens that people resonate with jewellery-making more than the other disciplines I practice but they’re still present. 

In reference to jewellery-making, I prefer when people refer to me as a jewellery artist as opposed to a jeweller because the former title truly captures the essence of my art. My jewellery is not simply for adornment on the body but they double as collectible pieces. You don’t need to wear them to bring them to life because they carry inherent value. 

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AMAKA: How would you describe your creative process from conception to the execution stage of making your designs?

TK: Each project starts differently and takes on a life of its own. Some could start by way of research, others by way of dreams. I’m fascinated with everyday things and I’m able to retain that because I take a lot of pictures. I see inspiration from objects like symbols on a grill door that I’ve spotted on my walk outside or a fridge sitting in my friend's house. When I get back to the workshop, I translate that raw material into sketches to try and bring the design to life. 

Depending on the design, I begin by sourcing the type of material that I need to work with such as brass. Following this, I start my design process which is shaping the metals to emulate my designs. 

AMAKA: One of your popular pieces ‘Kinga Pua’ was featured in Beyonce’s film Black Is King. What was your reaction to having your artwork endorsed by Queen Bee and her team?

TK: [Laughs] It’s funny you mention that because I didn’t even know my work was going to be featured until the film premiered. The whole process was very low-key. At the time, Daniel Obasi, one of the stylists from Black Is King, was sourcing pieces for the film and pulled my piece from the Ditto Africa store in Lagos. I was just as shocked as everybody else when I was watching the film and saw Tiwa Savage wearing the piece. Then the tags started flooding in from Instagram and I felt a strong sense of pride. 

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AMAKA: Besides the Black is King feature, you’ve since made other significant strides in the early stages of your career. What would you consider the highlight of your creative journey thus far?

TK: I’m super grateful for every single thing I’ve achieved so far even though my business is still in the infancy stage. As the past two years have been financially suffocating for many business owners, my biggest win has been running a woman-owned, unconventional business and still managing to generate employment opportunities in the middle of a pandemic. 

Another thing that most people may not know is that jewellery design isn’t the only part of the job creation process. There’s other artisans who are key players within the ecosystem of my brand. Some pieces need to be outsourced to other artisans who need to plate the metal. I also contract tailors to make cute little fabric bags to package the pieces. I have finally found my tribe which I am grateful to have a team [sic] that is just as invested in building this brand as I am.

AMAKA: On the flipside, what would you say has been the biggest setback of your career and how are you working towards overcoming that obstacle?

TK: The biggest obstacle has definitely been scaling up the brand. At the height of the pandemic last year, business slowed down and a fire wiped out our entire workshop. I think one of the ways of improving the industry and making sure something like a fire doesn’t financially debilitate the artisans in future is lobbying towards the formalisation of our industry. Jewellery makers and tailors in this industry are perceived as “informal labourers” so many of them are exploited and aren’t considered worthy of basic labour rights. I want to encourage other business-owners in the creative industry to sensitise their workers about measures such as obtaining insurance for their workshops and enrolling into healthcare plans such as Kenya’s National Hospital Insurance Fund. 

AMAKA: Do you feel like you’ve finally gotten back on your feet since the fire happened?

TK: We have somewhat managed to get back to our feet but I don’t feel like I’ve risen from the ashes just yet. I’d like to think that there’s a fighting spirit that’s intrinsic to me that motivates me to keep pushing forward. Giving up is easy, but I don’t want to go down that route because something tells me that this is just the beginning of a prosperous journey. 

So, we just had to keep it pushing and move forward. So having the spirit of fight is very important because giving up is always the easier route. But I didn’t want to give up just yet [because] my journey is starting, so I can’t really give up because this is just the beginning.