A stroll into the world of the Unseen  

 Kasagga’s solo show, The Witness, explores human’s relationship with the universe by drawing on his past and present personal experiences with the moon, a giant mirror, to demystify the concept of the unseen in our everyday life and how it impacts us.

ARTS | DOMINIC MUWANGUZI |  How much do humans know about the universe? It is obviously very little compared to its size, form and composition. The little that we know is probably an avalanche of conspiracies or what we read in science text books in high school, and still, this overwhelms us because of its abstract nature to our everyday life experiences. The solo exhibition, The Witness, offers a type of realistic understanding and interpretation of this cosmic world through connecting human life and experience to the moon, a giant mirror that has been a source of intrigue to the artist for many years. The artist, Dennis Kasagga, uses his personal experience and memory from his past and present to create his own interpretation on canvas of this complex world.

He evokes the moon’s circular form and its physical surface – moonscape – that include barren, rocky and arid planes with dusty, pitted bowls and rings, on his canvases to create a visual narrative of a mysterious world that is still, constant and vast. Through the use of perspective, light and space, Kasagga is also able to create an illusion of depth in his paintings that capture the viewers’ imagination to this unfamiliar world. Similarly, his palette of grey infuses in the drawings an aura of neutrality that echoes the characteristic nature of the moon. “The moon by nature is neutral because we can all experience it in different ways,” says the artist. Within this context of fluid interpretation and experience, the moon has throughout history played a crucial function in the areas of religion, science and tradition either as a source of superstition or as a symbol of incredible scientific innovation and discovery.

But the artist consciously shuns delving deep into the complex details of the cosmic world in this body of work, but he rather concentrates on investigating and making submissions on how the unseen continues to shape our being. The fact that the artworks carry a quality of mystery in terms of colour and composition subconsciously lures the viewer’s attention to the paintings to probe further what lies beneath these non- figure drawings on canvas that are created from subtle undertones. Furthermore, this concept of the unknown   echoes both the artist and his audience’s constant desire to understand and interpret the world they live in and its surroundings. Oftentimes, in moments of self-reflection, meditation or reading, many of us perform the act of trying to unravel what lies beyond our literal world and in doing so, we are able to attach meaning to our life. This experience is an emphasis of how our lives are inextricably connected to the outside world.

The artist admits that this body of work was created through a series of spiritual discourses he had with himself. As such, though it explores the subject of cosmology, it emerges as a commentary on human life within a larger and complex space. Kasagga’s personal experience with the moon as a child and his siblings as they looked up at the sky every night to catch a glimpse of a silhouette of a woman carrying a baby and firewood, and the constant waking up at night by the sight of a great light in the sky, inspire a sense of originality and authenticity in his storytelling on canvas. The physical installation of a mound of sand sitting in the centre of the exhibition hall unmistakably adds a nuanced layer of originality to the universe concept that runs through the exhibition. The installation with an intensity of imagination and creativity is a classic expression of the artist’s personal understanding and interpretation of the concept and makes a bold statement of an artist who has pushed the boundaries of his creativity.

Kasagga’s maiden solo show, The Witness, is more than a commentary on how humans are impacted by the universe they live in. It is also a demonstration of leaving the comfort zone and creating something that is unusual but equally thought-provoking. Naturally, the concept of the cosmic world is an unknown territory to many of us and few may find interest in exploring it, albeit possessing fond memories of the moon playing a central role in our childhood experiences. But the artist’s decision to explore it through this body of work demonstrates more than his natural curiosity but a deep-seated feeling to break away from the tradition of creating what is the usual or predictable. As such, this exhibition is a petition to his contemporaries to do the same in order to get credibility for their art.

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The show is curated by Sheila Nakitende and is showing at Metroplex Shopping Mall, Nalya. Images are courtesy of the Artist