Painting children’s challenges, dreams

Ibrahim Muwanga’s The Dream art piece he exhibited at AKA Gallery last Saturday. PHOTOs by Arafat Ndugga

What you need to know:

Artists Ibrahim Muwanga and his colleagues’ paintings are devoted to children going about the day-to-day challenges

AKA Gallery in Kampala will be the place to be for art lovers as different artists exhibit their talents for the rest of the this month. Last Saturday saw 38-year-old Juliet Nsiima, accompanied by three men, Gilbert Musinguzi, Ibrahim Muwanga, and Elvis Paul Lukyamuzi showcase their art pieces. The exhibitors confidently explained their inspirational pieces.

Nsiima’s paintings explore the visual experience, with an increased emphasis on butterflies and its love for exquisite atmosphere.

In the piece titled My Dream, Muwanga says: “There are children out there who have dreams and wish they will come true one day. They hustle day and night to acquire support to reach there, the one thing they need is education. It is the best way to change the world.”
Muwanga’s paintings are devoted to children going about the day-to-day life challenges. His palette is colourful with red and yellow, symbolising vibrancy and elegancy. He uses impasto technique in his work, which lends an outstanding visual impression reminiscent of many impressionist paintings.

“I drew this painting using a knife and fading colours, signifying that there is hope and future for those children,” Muwanga explains, adding: “My theme for this is that every child should go to school.”
Lukyamuzi shares that his pieces are part of his innovative lifestyle. “When you look at them, they define the progress of life. That is why I decided to elaborate and extend my originality through them,” he says.

Interpretation
For one to interpret Musinguzi’s pieces, one must look straight at them and let their mind think because the materials used, such as the wood pieces and the acrylic paint, look cracked and discoloured in ways that tell a story of time and struggle, like the piece of a man carrying jerry cans.

The artists were willing to twist their fingers out of proportion, and they did so to create not only convincing images, but also substantial paintings which surely left the viewers in applause for their creativity.
What makes their work look similar is that even though they used various colours, it seems they used the same materials —from acrylics to oil paint.