An African woman screaming with make-up art on her face.
A Detailed Portrait Of An African Child

Progressive Africans argue that tribalism is one of the most disruptive influences confronting newly independent sub-Saharan African states. Tribalism, they claim, is the cause for hatred between peoples within a country as well as between countries. Little evidence, however, that tribal identity is on the wane, even among the most progressive elements within the newly created districts in my nation. Furthermore, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that post-independence efforts to eliminate tribal identities may have contributed significantly to Africa's catastrophic problems.

What accounts for the resilience of cultural identity in the face of the efforts to eliminate it? The answer to this question is at the heart of our understanding of such topics as famines, refugee crises that plague contemporary sub-Saharan Africa. The same terms used to describe oneself or others in Africa - nation, nationality, tribe, ethnic group - are highly charged and skillfully manipulated by friends and foes alike.

As an African artist, I believe that the different tribes and ethnic groups could accomplish more if they worked together.

Ethnicity and visual culture are inextricably linked, and visual art presents a rich site for artists to overturn tribal conflict imagery actively. As an artist, I have drawn on my own identity to create ennobling depictions of historically marginalised individuals in my detailed portraits of African children.

In the wake of the Ugandan Rights Movement and the rise of Pop art, I have blended charcoal and oil paint into darkly periodic surrealistic portraits to investigate and explore new forms of transnational culture in my community.

I’m a Visual Artist with a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Fine Arts and Design from the Margaret Trowel School of Industrial fine arts and design. I am currently pursuing a career as a mainstream art studio practitioner and an industrial design thinker. Inspired by social issues and an advocate for social change, I specialise in Contemporary art as most of my creations are realistic yet abstracted images that represent our everyday lives because they contain feelings and emotions that resonate with the viewers. Creating a visual culture that speaks of possibilities that society finds disturbing drives my creations.

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