Six sculptures reveal unknown side to the artist
During his solo exhibition dubbed: I speak “Elephanish” in April last year at Afri Kotemp Gallery located on Hannington Road, Wasswa Donald exhibited wildlife paintings and sculpture specifically elephants. The wildlife was symbolic to the daily day to day life activities within the community he lives in.
That particular exhibition however, never gave any clue to his new solo exhibition taking place now at the same art space he exhibited in last year. If it did, may be it were the sculptures made of ebony and mugavu timber which incidentally have recently become a forte of his art.
Wasswa’s new exhibition is called Evolution 3D and audibly expresses who Wasswa is both as an artist and individual.
“The exhibition is a shift from what people know about me to what people do not know about me,” says the youthful artist.
What perhaps we did not know about Wasswa is his intense creative side championed by the need to experiment all the time.
“I am always experimenting and creating all the time. It’s my fundamental role as an artist,” he says with a smile on his face.
The exhibit of six sculptures is astounding. From a small seat crafted out of ebony and mugavu tree raised on a pedestal in the middle of the gallery (he calls it Semakokilo; an allusion to the young prince of Buganda) to a shield (Engabo) made out of the same medium of rich timber.
“I am proud of my cultural heritage and I always want to reflect it in my work,” he says.
The artist garnishes the beauty and figurative meaning of this particular work with metal scrap and Terracotta buttons which he stitches to the wood to create the 3D effect.
According to the artist, this fusion has the impact to the viewer to not only look at any of these objects as simply beautiful, but as a medium of artistic experimentation.
Also both his paintings of mixed media (canvas collage) and landscapes amounting to 20 are conceptual in style. His approach to these paintings is much similar to the sculptures; using the 3D theme.
In the landscapes, the artists studies what lies beneath the surface of everything we see and hear.
While explaining to me this ideology, he shows me one of the painting “White house” a composition of multi-layered landscapes and small house. In the background, the artist creates a fantasy of these multi-layered landscapes being stitched together.
The inspiration for this particular work came about during his visit to Entebbe and while passing by the state house on the back of a boda boda, the cyclist intimated to him that it was his earnest wish in life to get into state house.
“The boda boda man made it feel like getting into State House was like going to heaven!” remarks the artist during the interview.
In another painting he calls “Nakivubo”, the artist figuratively uses the landscapes on canvas to conjure up memories of his childhood in the Nakivubo community.
“I grew up near Nakivubo and as a child every day we would go to school in what is present day the New Taxi Park. I am fond of that experience because it has formed part of what I am today.
Wasswa’s personality is that of an agile young man which is typical of most young men who grew up in the city. The artist is very adept at using every opportunity to re-invent himself and assert his artistic skills albeit the little resources that may be at his disposal.
This quality is so much reflected in this particular exhibition because unlike the previous exhibitions, evolution 3d has more emphasis on texture, play of lines, and landscape as the subject.
But his sheer passion for creativity and experimentation- the artist also doubles as a fashion designer under his label Wasswad- can also be interpreted as a challenge to many artists of his generation.
Wasswa impresses it upon everyone, though subconsciously, that it’s always important to present something fresh. This helps the artist not to be predictable and also at the same time relevant to the demands of society.
The exhibition started on 16th June and ends on 6th July 2012 at AKA gallery.
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