What is it about nature that all artists feel so indebted to?
There appears to be such an infatuation with scenery and the female figure that painters and sculpture never seem to tire of depicting. A couple of them have expressed themselves on the latter for the curvilinear and sensual nature of the female body as being the principle reason for the many ‘sexy’ women in their paintings. What is not for certain is whether even those who hit on the garish exhibition of lewd or raw nudity go under the guise of infatuation for the so-called female figure.
The ongoing painting exhibition by emerging artist James Sensalire came as no particular surprise to regular art observers. His theme was the cliché: “Colours of Nature,†a quite familiar line in art shows taking place around town.
Sensalire claims that there are certain environmental features that are fast becoming extinct because of human activities. For instance, the growing urbanisation in Kampala has seen many erstwhile green spaces developed into commercial building, industries and other developments. Unless, he says, such aspects of any place are documented through art and photography, they will be lost for good. And when it comes to the more salient elements of nature conservation such as the extinction of certain species, his face seethes with trepidation. He paints wildlife images using oil on canvas portraying species such as chimps, gorillas, rhinos, birds, etc. Then, of course, there is the aspect of African female dancers engrossed in some kind of tribal dance.Â
The artist’s techniques of presentation include collage, the art of pasting foreign materials onto the flat surface of the canvas in order to give it a natural look. Some of his works have half gourds and calabashes attached to them and blended into oil colours to form a coherent composition. Whereas this technique has been around for a while now, there is something about it that creates a rather outlandish impression as applied by individual artists. The artist’s choice of a gourd, for instance, blends in well with the theme of nature as observers will quickly identify with the 3-D object as opposed to struggling to decipher the usually abstract nature of paintings.
The personal story of the artist renders an interesting dimension to his exhibition. After finishing his studies at NTC Nkozi in 2002, Sensalire did not make any time to face the blackboards. He immediately got employed as an illustrator (read cartoonist) for a monthly Catholic magazine called Leadership. But because this job rendered him idle for the most part, he decided to chase the oil and brush dream that led him into the not-so-easy environment of art galleries. After participating in a couple of group exhibitions, he is showcasing in his first solo exhibition, a no-mean-feat, according to him.
Will Colours of Nature catapult him to the next level of his career as a major player in the industry? From the tone of his voice, and perhaps some of his works, he seems to be sold out to the cause and add his voice to the ever growing choir of environmental activism. Martin Luther King Jr. famously said in a 1963 speech that if a man has not discovered something he will die for, he is not fit to live. Sensalire is passionate about wildlife and nature. But is the passion, poured out in a psychedelic medley of colours, capable of transcending everyday infatuation? Find that out when you visit his show that runs till Aug. 15 at Nommo gallery in Nakasero. Â
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