Frederich Male shows off one of his paintings. Photo/Edgar R Batte
In a dimly lit gallery corner, beneath strokes of wild yellow auto paint and jagged lines that seem to bleed from mechanical chaos, into emotional revelation, stands Frederich Male- a newly minted professional artist. His first solo exhibition, It’s Not Me.
Just Xpression, offers a raw, intimate look into the burdens of the mind under the weight of Uganda’s socio-economic realities.
For the art creator and the viewers, the exhibition that is on-going at Nommo Gallery in Nakasero, is not merely art, but therapy presented on the canvas, especially for those dealing with the mental health struggles occasioned by daily pressures of life.
Male did not take the conventional road to the canvas. With a background in Information Technology (IT) and a detour through cross-border trade in automotive supplies, his journey into art was born from rejection- not of his work, but of a life that left him on the verge of emotional collapse.
“Every single morning when I went to work, I felt like crying,” Male recalls. But from the internal discord bloomed a love that became his source of creation expression and by extension, use an art project to confront inner battles of anxiety, stress, depression, trauma, Post Trauma Stress Disorder (PTSD), grief, and low self-esteem.
These are often exacerbated by the punishing nature of life for many Ugandans. From unpaid mechanics to exploited food vendors, Male's art absorbs the unheard cries of the working class and distils them into vibrant and deeply human works.
He says, “Most of us are experiencing mental issues. We are not mentally sick, but we face them daily.” Whether it is the despair of a mechanic cheated by a client or a young girl resigned to workplace harassment, the artist captures these silent screams- not with soft pastels or studied techniques, but with the rough urgency of spanners, sticks, and auto-paint.
Brushes, he explains, cannot keep up with his emotional velocity. “My style is accidental, mechanical, and playful. I did not want my subject to look gruesome to depress those who have come to look at it. Let another artists do that. For me, it had to comic, real and raw.”
Artist Frederich Male shows one of his art pieces. Different art viewers appreciate different pieces of Male's art at Nommo Gallery in Nakasero. The exhibition is still on. Photos/Edgar R. Batte.
The unorthodox nature of the artist is borne out in a 37-piece visual work, in swaths of metallic red textures, formed from car repair scraps and more. You will not find neat lines in the art. There are no neat lines here. Male invites viewers into a realm, where mental struggle is laid bare, with an unconventional style to incite the viewer by getting in their mind as the first step toward healing. “I do not want my work to be admired but to be looked at as therapy,” he asserts. “You look at it and ask the artist’s intention behind the unconventional mix of colour. That process of self-asking is actually what I am trying to capture.”
Male’s artistic awakening formally began in October 2023, when he sought mentorship from fellow artist Philip Balimunsi, who helped steer him away from realism toward a signature style- abstract, bold, and unmistakably his. Since then, he has not only found his voice, but also his purpose.
He later trusted Balimunsi with his body of work, becoming the curator of the exhibition. The artist chose to exhibit in June which is globally recognised as Men's Mental Health Month. Through It’s Not Me. Just Xpression, he reminds audiences of the invisible emotional wounds carried but often suffocating men. His vision stretches beyond canvas and colour.
He is already considering further education in psychology to sharpen the tools he uses to dissect and depict mental states. “I am dealing with the mental subject,” he shares, “psychological school will help me master what I am going to portray on the upcoming canvases.”
He adds, “This is not just a ritual. It is a mental hospital in your home. Only watching. And healing.”
In It’s Not Me. Just Xpression, Male opens a door to the unspoken. He holds up a mirror to collective struggle and dares us to look. Not to admire but to feel, to heal, and perhaps, to start a conversation we’ve long avoided.
