Ronex at 20
Sisters
Victoria Nabulime’s work explores the relationship of sisterhood from the lens of childhood, themes of innocence, personhood and emotion; make up this body of work that celebrates how the female body thrives in this stage of growth. Childhood is marked as a stage of development when the individual is most susceptible to social orderings, and in societies that oppress the female and from this sisters form close bonds to shield themselves, heal themselves and hide. Curator Note by Trevor Mukholi “She shines so bright, she lights up the whole world, so bold and courageous, pure, loving and beautiful. Her skin shines like black diamonds such a rare treasure. She has a golden and pure heart, flawless, furious, kind, gentle and brave. Just like a rose flower in the desert, she stands out. There is no pain she can’t handle, she is strong enough to withstand all the obstacles that she comes across She strives to achieve her goals, even with all the hardships of life. “Sister’s” explores themes of sisterhood, coming of age and the resilience of the female spirit.” By Victoria Nabulime.
Omuntu Muntu
“Omuntu muntu” literally means the nature of the mankind that clearly describes the natural disposition of the mind for any being, his or her personal character, temper, peculiar mental characteristics and attributes that serve to distinguish him or her from other persons and all creations on earth. This can be expressed in two ways, the inner state of the being and the other form exhibited through the active performances. “Omuntu” is that person who is widely open for new experiences where he has many fields of interest. Omuntu reacts quickly to any arising problem or changing situation to him is like second nature to him and therefore he intends to cherish it. Collecting new experiences when he gets to action helps him to activate his mental and physical being. Omuntu is extremely communicative and crafty, he attracts new friends but at times he can be a bit superficial and becomes independent where he does not easily take advice from others when he already has existing firm beliefs. Understanding omuntu is not just about the actions that are happening between “abantu”, it’s also about how abantu interact with the whole world and how they seek to promote the welfare of the rest of the whole society. Omuntu should always preach love instead of hate. The world wants to see us helping one another and living by each other’s happiness. “Ndi Muntu” as a person I do not preach hate and despise others because I believe that in this world there is room for everyone and room for any other creature that lives on Earth. OMUNTU MUNTU art exhibition therefore manifests a series of forms and qualities of the mankind “Omuntu” according to the different qualities and attributes. This exhibition also takes us through the journey of the different life experiences of Omuntu as he tries to make the world a better place to live in. The exhibition is also a presentation of behavior patterns and life experiences of an ordinary Muntu most especially during his or her childhood stages. Omuntu retains some line of activity both in childhood and in maturity stages all directed towards achieving a certain goal in life. Omuntu will always live the most peaceful and most successful life regardless of how much money, academic qualifications he owns but rather the degree of humanitarian activities he performs. Humanity does not only stop at caring for others but also getting to deeply understand the nature of the human kind “Obuntu” and extending unconditional love to every being that was created to live on earth. Life seems to be so demanding but as humans we should always embrace the little that is available and as we crave for more, we should also give a hand to those with less than what we have. All of us are capable of showing humanity and this can be through acknowledging that all human beings are equal, regardless of their gender, sex, colour or anything. Finally we as humans should all model genuine empathy and show gratitude to each other to express respect and humility. ARTIST BIOGRAPHY Kabonge George Wasswa is a Ugandan visual artist born as a twin in Mukono district. He’s a graduate of Kyambogo University where he acquired formal education with a bachelor’s degree in vocational studies, art and design with education. He is a secondary school teacher and a practicing artist specialized in painting genre with a collage painting effects and pointillism style characterized by vibrant dots of tints and shades meticulously layered onto canvas to define his subjects. His themes draw inspiration from the contemporary social life that defines his society. Kabonge explores variety of themes ranging from traditional African contemporary music, wild life, and daily life styles and activities presented both in realistic, semi abstract and abstract forms intended to evoke public dialogue on respecting and preserving societal traditions and culture. He has participated in various art exhibitions in Uganda and across East Africa to share his artistic experiences with fellow artists and communities. Although he predominantly works with acrylics and oil on canvas, he has experimented with a wide range of media. His motivation towards exploration of the arts practice with in an expanded pedagogy stems from his ability to work with fellow artists and communities. ARTIST STATEMENT I love exploring different themes using pointillism style where I put various vibrant dots or strokes of colour in most of my paintings. Different hues mostly appear in contrasts to one another. I am inspired by day today life experiences which I depict using the vibrant dots or strokes of hues on canvas. I use oil paints and acrylics on canvas to portray messages.
Look one edition 2
Look One group exhibition is annual group exhibition organized by Xenson art space. This year we will be showcasing works of five sensational and enthusiastic emerging artists and it will be the second edition as the first edition was held in 2020. The objective of Look One group exhibition is to give young and emerging artists an opportunity to exhibit a body of their works in a professional way in an art gallery for the very first time and be able to kick start their art career. Each artist has a distinct and profound story to share through their art forms. This will be the first professional exhibition for each of the artists giving us the opportunity to be the first to experience their work and support them. For this year’s selection, we have a unique blend of artists from different backgrounds and this is seen through their work as they share their experiences in relation with their immediate communities. The artists were selected through an open call that was put out in December 2021.
Hidden Beauty 2022
As part of the Moving Identities Festival in May 2022, the Alliance Française de Kampala and the Goethe Zentrum Kampala/ UGCS joined forces to organise a three-day painting workshop in the Nakivale refugee camp. During this workshop, the refugees were accompanied by two painters to create their paintings. The aim of this exhibition is to show another image of the people living in refugee camps. These works tell stories of family, courage and struggle, which are sublimated by the artist’s practice. This exhibition allows us to see how we can change our history through art. Most of the artists were painting their own stories. This workshop was also aimed to give them hope that they can do something with their talent and they may be able to make a living from their art.