Portrait of Kayitesi

2024 | Oil On Canvas, Unframed

In this quietly powerful African contemporary painting, a woman sits politely on a couch, arms folded in her lap, waiting. Her composed posture suggests patience and restraint, but also the quiet tension many African women carry. Her face and hands appear lighter than her neck and arms—a visual trace of skin bleaching that speaks to deeper themes of beauty standards, internalized perceptions, and self-worth. Dressed in soft purple, a color of dignity and complexity, she holds space without demanding it. The work invites viewers to consider the emotional cost of being seen, and how societal pressures can shape even the most personal aspects of identity.

See more artwork by Myriam U. Birara