“He is sometimes described as the Hogarth among African artists. In addition to sketches of primitive life, he is recording the urbanisation of the African people with an intimacy of knowledge that few Europeans could possess”- Reverend Shepherd

Pemba claimed that his inspiration to paint came from both the internal and external- an emotional response to what he saw and experienced. Blessed with an excellent visual memory, events that had occurred much earlier in his life were often melded into current experiences or visa visual stimuli would recall a past memory that would then find its way onto canvas.

In the rapid urbanisation that was taking place during his lifetime. For the community, gambling and drinking were an escape from the daily grind of poverty. Shebeens and dance halls prang up everywhere. Pemba himself struggled with alcohol. He would drink as a release from the pressures of debt and financial responsibility to his large extended family.

In “many of Pemba’s interior scenes, the figures engaged in activity are set against a complex background. There is a sense of space and other objects (such as religious icon, a sign or hat) decorate the walls of the scene and draw the viewers’ attention.

Pemba did not consciously set out to provide a narrative for the cultural and political changes that occurred during his lifetime. He was foremost an artist who sought to express himself through his work.