In response to Kenya’s last general election in August 2022, Between Hope and Despair explores the aftermath of the 2007-2008 post-election violence that left more than 2000 people dead and 600,000 internally displaced due to ethnic violence. It depicts events as memorial monuments that continually fluctuate in time. The work portrays the fine line between citizens’ demands for change and politicians’ scramble for clout, as well as the close proximity to historical repetition due to selective amnesia. In this work, photographic imagery is combined with newspaper articles from previous general elections and laced on canvas using the image-transfer technique. This creates a surreal visual format depicting a Deja Vu feeling experienced by participants in a modern setting while delivering a mirrored illusion of the past. As evidenced by the oil paintings with figurative subjects queueing to cast their ballot. This piece aims to express the moment of uncertainty during general elections while investigating the nuance resulting from national trauma and the search for alternative utopias.