Kenyan artist Cyrus Kabiru gives us a fresh perspective.

Cyrus practices in Nairobi and is a self taught painter and sculptor. He has been at the Kuona Trust Art Centre for the past six years.

The artists sculptural work embodies his role as a “collector” of Nairobi cast offs. Kabiru fashions and refashions this waste, recycled, and found materials into various forms. He is perhaps best known for his C-STUNNERS, an ongoing work which where Cyrus creates and wears artistic bifocals. The work sits itself between fashion, wearable art, performance, and one of a kind commodity objects. C-STUNNERS have a certain energy and playfulness that really captures the sensibility and attitude of a youth generation in Nairobi. They portray the aspiration of popular culture bling; they reflect the ingenuity and resourcefulness of people; the lenses provide a new filter giving a fresh perspective onto the world that we live in transforming the wearer not only in appearance but in mind frame as well.

It was the C- STUNNERS photo shoot that started Cyrus’ internationally career off, a collaborative exhibition between him and photographer Sylvia Gichia at Kuona Trust. After the shoot Cyrus slowly stared to be discovered, initially by the local fashion scene, and then quickly became popular internationally. In 2012 he was showcasing at the Istanbul Biennale in Turkey and attending the TED conference in the US, among other things. He has also done several solo exhibitions. The C-STUNNERS are today priced at 1000 – 1500 EUR a pair.

Check out some of Cyrus’ recent C-STUNNERS work in collaboration with Bobby Womack: http://vimeo.com/54904958