Merikokeb Berhanu @ Addis Fine Art

Merikokeb Berhau spent years developing her work and crafting her idiosyncratic visual language that tows the line between pure abstraction and recognisable form.

While her work has always had a focus on lifeforms and biomorphic imagery, over the years it started to gravitate towards more vibrant hues, which define her latest paintings. New symbols – a circuit board structure, the skeletal remains of fish – began to emerge throughout Merikokeb’s work, as she grappled with the implications of a society estranged from nature.