Biography | fineart

Olivia is an anthropologist and artist working with a variety of different media, based in Kenya. She gained her PhD in 2016 in Applied Anthropology, and has been based in East Africa for almost 20 years.

Olivia's work as an anthropologist has allowed her to meet some of the characters, and visit some of the places featured in her paintings. Olivia's life as an ethnographer heavily influences her work as an artist. She is entirely self-taught.

Olivia works in oil and acrylic on canvas or board, primarily from her own, original photographs.

Olivia's linocuts portray simple, recognisably East African imagery and her more abstract works are an exploration of mark making, colour and shapes, and negative space. Her work sometimes considers personal experiences through symbolism.

She is particularly interested in the interplay between light and shade, and representing the vivid colours of East African life. Olivia's portraits attempt to reflect the intensity of faces and emotions, and her landscapes, the vibrancy of the East African environment.

Much of Olivia's work is a form of visual ethnography, allowing the stories of people, places and local realities to be communicated outside of their contexts. It allows seldom-heard voices to emerge and to broaden the viewers' experience.

You can find out more about her academic career at oliviahowland.wix.com/oliviahowland