Elias Mungora: Kenyan painter featured on HBOs Insecure

Elias Mungora a Kenyan painter, born and raised in central Kenya has been featured in Season 2 of the popular HBO TV series Insecure created and starring Issa Rae. The show has an impressive viewership and the season-two premiere of Insecure titled “Hella Good,” applied to the stellar ratings for the show’s sophomore opener.

The featured painting is part of a series titled ‘Urban chronicles’ and it was painted by Mungora in 2016. The paintings in the series documents daily life in Nairobi. According to Mungora, life in Nairobi is his inspiration for his work. “My love is in portraiture and to an extent cityscapes,” said Mungora in his portforlio.

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Mungora’s work appeared on the show after a team member working on the sets decor got in touch with him on behalf of the creators of the show who were looking to feature a Kenyan artist. The acquisition and transactions were done online and the hanging on the set was only a print of the work.

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When asked about his cable network debut, Mungora told Hapa Kenya, “It’s exhilarating. Part of what i hope to do is get my voice and the everyday life of my city out in the world . To be in a position to tell my story with the work i do. What this show is doing is helping elevate voices in regions and cultures often overlooked by such high profile productions. For this I’m really grateful to Issa Rae and the entire Insecure team.”

Despite drawing from a young age, Mungora attended college for two years to pursue a degree in Real-Estate before dropping out at the end of 2013 to pursue a career in art. He uses mediums such as a ballpoint, charcoal, pencil, acrylic paint and water colours to create.

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“My aim is to share and get some exposure to the rest of the world. I believe we have some amazing art from this part of the world and it would be my joy if more people got to see it and experience it too,” his portfolio says.