If you've been following the cultural art scene in Oakland over the past five years, you’ve probably seen Afrocentric mixed-media artist Githinji Wa Mbire’s works around town.

His iconic depictions of the African continent, rendered in wood, paint, acrylic, metal, found objects (such as signage, bottle caps and magazine images) and sometimes with faces of pop culture stars ranging from Pele to Sade to Bob Marley to Michael Jackson resonate deeply with Afro-Diasporic vibes. Wa Mbire’s art speaks to a higher truth; it is the essence of the maxim once uttered by reggae group Black Uhuru, “the whole world is Africa.”

As a 2006 press release for his show at the Guerilla Café noted, “Githinji’s work is based on an African aesthetic. He incorporates our ancestors, our heroes, our feelings and our energies. It is the story of a history, not just the victories and losses, but each moment in between. The work exhibits a sincere respect for legacy using the images of famous icons and the tools of common people. Within each piece lies a keen recognition of community, humanity and the forces that tie us together as we all share one world.”

Take a work like “Prophecy” - from far away, it looks like an aerial view of Africa from high up in space, the kind you might see in National Geographic magazine. Upon closer examination, it becomes obvious that Wa Mbire has created a three-dimensional, textured “canvas” out of everyday items - the junk which we might pass by in the street and not give a second thought to - full of intricate detail and bright colors. It speaks to the constant recycling of energy and materials, which make up life in Africa and elsewhere.

In a 2009 show for Inspired Art, the Kenyan-born Wa Mbire used plywood slats to create the shape of the African continent, then added bottle caps, swaths of color strips and a classic picture of American jazz/soul singer Nina Simone, as well as a badge which reads “Mao.” The overall aesthetic should be disingenuous, yet somehow it’s not. Instead of a feeling of dissonance, it evokes connectivity.

A 2010 show for the Black Dot Café included “Basquiat – King of Africa,” a deconstructionist/Afro-futurist piece, which finds the African continent shaped in the form of multi-colored, graffiti-style crowns. Atypically for Wa Mbire, the artwork is rendered in 2D, emphasizing the homage to the Warhol protégé who began as a graffiti artist.

Wa Mbire’s most recent exhibits include  March 2011’s “Young, Gifted and Afrikan” at the Layover and “Afro-Urbanites,” a group show with Keba Konte and Eesuu Orundide, held at the Four Colors Gallery this past July.

For the past few months, Wa Mbire has been working out of a pop-up studio next to the Joyce Gordon Galley on 14th Street. He just happened to be in the right place at the right time; in October, the drama and pathos of Occupy Oakland - centered just up the street at Frank Ogawa/Oscar Grant Plaza - unfolded right before his eyes.

A month-and-a- half’s worth of protests, demonstrations, rallies and a constant influx of people numbering into the tens of thousands was disrupting for some. But like a true artist, Wa Mbire found inspiration in the experience.

“No matter what happens, you can’t help notice human energy. It may be joy, it may be anger. You get each and every piece of it. But mostly it’s been happiness," Wa Mbire said. "People inspire me, people are feeling good. I think people are starting to see they can really change the way the system works. You can feel that in people’s vibration, you can feel that in people’s energy.”

Wa Mbire has been creating new works daily from his spot on 14th, and he’s also amassed a large collection of signs and banners from Occupy Oakland, which represent the voice of “all the people who are basically against the system.” True to his style, he plans to incorporate those messages into more mixed-media works, although he muses that it would have been nice to have some representation from those opposed to Occupy: “So, hopefully, down the line, we balance it out.

“They haven’t brought signs…," he said. "So we’ll see.”