The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
By working with imagery of a vivid palette and muses the artist constructs conversations on the fragile and complex realities of the human condition in a contemporary world.
ARTS | Dominic Muwanguzi | Humans need that moment of tranquillity and calmness to sit back and reflect on life’s complex realities. Through the process, they get closer to their inner self and question their existence in a world filled with contradictions, where happiness and sadness or failure and success inhabit in equal measures. The solo exhibition, The Tender, The Fractured and The Quietly Extraordinary, by artist Busingye Doddridge at Xenson Art Space traverses this fragile and complicated terrain of human life. The artist contextualizes his work on the everyday life experiences and draws inspiration from his immediate surroundings to create artworks that are both familiar and relevant. The blue female figures, suspended in subtle backgrounds evoke an atmosphere of calmness, serenity and solitude that is representational to the different emotions and feelings humans go through while navigating through life’s wide- raging contradictions.
The artist works with familiar female figures to represent the different emotional textures in his work. These muses are picked from his immediate surroundings and therefore, create a powerful visual narrative of the different life experiences or themes that are embedded in humanity’s everyday living like self-doubt, memory, resilience and longing. In Girl with a Green Ring, the artist’s muse stares back at the viewer with sultry eyes while wearing a mop of blue hair that touches her back and a precious green ring on her index finger. Her upper torso is half exposed revealing her well- toned body that denotes a sensual quality of the subject. The seductive pose of this nubile model suggest a young woman who’s presumably longing for love. This painting conveys a sense of loneliness that many beautiful young women battle as they quietly search for the right partner amidst societal pressures that complicate their pursuits. The triptych, The Man with an Imperfect Soul and Infallible Body, echoes the complexity of the human condition, where human beings naturally have to contend with life paradoxes as they journey through life. Each panel, with the subject assuming a particular pose, is symbolic of a different stage in life: childhood, teenagehood and adulthood. These cycles have each a complex element that affects the wellbeing of the individual. For example, during teenagehood one may have many dreams, but they’re restricted by their immediate surroundings. Equally, as they transition into adulthood and become independent, they’re faced with emotions of self-doubt, frustration and anxiety about themselves and future.
It is inevitable that the artist builds this existential body of work without positioning himself as a protagonist in this epic production. There have been those moments he has gone through a phase of dejection, longing and indecision but also resilience and finally triumph. By sharing these vulnerabilities and struggles in his work, he’s able to connect deeply with his audiences. “There are those moments in my life when I have experienced self-doubt and anxiety, especially after university when I had to choose a full time career in art against the many options that were presented to me ,” says the soft-spoken artist. The triptych painting is particularly inspired by his personal experiences of life’s contradictions and the desire to triumph over silent battles. In a much similar way, the artist’s palette of vivid colours transcends the representational aspect of blues and reds as symbols to intense emotions and feeling that emerge during the process of self –reflection and actualization. The artist’s previous difficulty with eye sight where he used to wear glasses to enhance his seeing ability influenced him to lean towards the vibrant and bold hues. It is through the process of working with such a multiplicity of colours that he has been able to heal from this vulnerable condition. “Working with blue as a skin colour on my muses gives me an opportunity to challenge and rediscover myself both as an artist and individual. I feel deeply connected to these subjects when I work with this palette because it’s genuinely intimate to me, reflecting both my personal struggles and triumphs,” he says.
This solo show, his debut in Kampala- Uganda his home town offers more than astonishingly beautiful women dressed in a blue palette, but, like its theme of self-realization and actualization offers a unique opportunity to the audience as they stand before these portraits and installations to pause and reflect on their personal vulnerabilities and challenges, often sitting quietly within their inner selves. This intimate discourse becomes relevant and familiar to the many Ugandans who’re silently struggling with an avalanche of problems precipitated by the demands of a contemporary society that frowns at personal values and identity.
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The exhibition is showing at Xenson Art Space, on Kennethdale Road, Kamwokya- Kampala, next to the Kira Road Police station Playground. Images are courtesy of the artist.
