Mabati
Women, labour, legacy.
Naomi Wanjiku
“Mabati (sheet metal) is my signature material. It is associated with the Mabati Women’s Groups of the 1960s in central Kenya. These were women who organized to replace grass-thatched roofs with durable mabati.
This collective act elevated the social and economic status of their communities.”
Mabati Landscapes
Transforming a Legacy
Naomi's large-scale Mabati sculptures draw inspiration from the pioneering Mabati Women Groups of 1960s central Kenya—grassroots collectives of women who transformed their communities by replacing thatched roofs with corrugated sheet metal, symbolizing resilience and social change.
Her works extend this legacy, reimagining sheet metal as a vessel of memory, strength, and transformation.