Renowned Rwandan artist Emmanuel Nkuranga unveiled his 2016 collection on Sunday, November 29 at Inema Art Center. This came days after his brother Emmanuel Nkurunziza, with whom he cofounded the Kacyiru-based art center ended his two-week exhibition, Re/ De Construction.

The collection, under the theme "Utterance” featured works meditating on the flow of life. Hundreds of attendees that thronged the exhibition were left enthralled by the unique pieces of artwork that had different cryptic messages behind them.

Nkuranga’s painted abstracts build layers of canvas, paint, and texture. The top layers are cut to show heavily textured canvas underneath. Messages of positivity, encouragement and gratitude are hidden within rich colorful paintings.

"There’s a message on top, but there’s a message behind it,” says Nkuranga. "The outer, vibrant canvas is cut into strips to show the flow – like waterfalls, waves. The canvas underneath is dark and obscured. But it still has abundance and effervescence. This, to me, shows that even in the darkest of times, there is still beauty.”

In addition to his canvas pieces, Nkuranga builds mixed media pieces from bike, motorcycle, and car parts.

"The bike parts have a strong connection to the vehicle,” said Nkuranga. "And in these pieces, the parts bring the message of forward momentum in life and experience. It’s the journey of what we go through day to day: that we just keep going.”

The collection is on display at Inema Art Center in Kacyiru, Kigali until December 6, 2015.

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