Masika Rains I Paintings I Melissa Wangui Prieske

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Shifting Layers I

Earth pigments & gouache on watercolour paper

57 x 81,5 cm, 2026

In Kenya, the Kiswahili term “Masika“ refers to the long rainy season early in the year. Growing up there, I experienced these downpours as a radical reset from the hot dry season. It is a moment of revival where static earth dissolves into motion and the landscape awakens.

My work lives in this transition. To capture the energy of the earth as it reshapes itself, I turn the commonly found red soil into pigments for my paintings.
By restricting my palette to mainly raw earth pigments, I allow the natural depth and nuances of the soil to emerge. I work by layering and subtracting the material, mirroring the way the rain itself carves into the land. Through this process, I aim to capture the rhythms, movement, and patterns left in the mud.