Hollowing the Rock to Fill the Gaps is a 60-minute documentary-portrait produced within the framework of the Resonances of Stones Biennale Naxos 2025 and presented in conjunction with the exhibition Resonances of Stones: TMMSAC© at Naxos • Sculpture • Music • Architecture and the International Symposium Transcultural Immersive Encounters through Sculpture, Architecture and Music.

The film brings together Mutuma Marangu—TMMSAC© founder, owner, and Originating Convener—and Master Sculptors Peter Kenyanya Oendo, Robin Okeyo Mbera, and Gerard Oroo Motondi, in conversation with Bogna J. Gladden-Obidzińska, PhD. Filmed in Nairobi in March 2025, the dialogues retrace the sculptors’ trajectories from their early experiences of soapstone carving in childhood in Kenya’s Kisii region to their artistic transformation from craft to fine art. They reflect on the transition from hand tools to power tools, which opened the possibility of undertaking more imaginative, deeper in meaning, and larger-scale projects in a variety of hard stones—granites, basalts, petrified wood, marbles, and others—sourced both in Kenya and abroad.

Beyond matters of technique, the interviews open onto the wider cultural, environmental, and educational significance of stone sculpture in Kenya. The sculptors highlight its role in sustaining national identity and oral traditions, strengthening social bonds, and fostering respect for nature and sustainable agriculture. They further situate their practice within international artistic networks, reflecting on their engagement in symposia, residencies, and courses. Each artist also articulates a personal vision for the future development of their work.

Interwoven with commentary by Mr. Mutuma Marangu, the artists’ patron and principal collector, the documentary offers a rare and penetrating portrait of Kenyan stone sculpture, situating the artists’ work and voices within a wider global art-historical and market perspective.

The film received its first public screening on 2 September 2025 at CineNaxos, Chora (Agiou Georgiou 101, Naxos 843 00) as part of the TMMSAC© virtual tour of the CAPHE Horizon Europe programme.