- MONITOR, Sept. 20, 2005 -
By: RODNEY MUHUMUZA
BEAUTY RULES
On
this cold Tuesday afternoon at Tulifanya gallery, it is not
hard to see that most of the visitors are female. The ladies
are carefully viewing the paintings like there is something
hidden in them. They have probably been told that the exhibiting
artist explores female sexuality in the bulk of his works. Chances
are that they will not be disappointed.
A few days earlier, Ronex Ahimbisibwe had launched his art exhibition
at the Hannington road-based gallery. As painter and sculptor,
Ahimbisibwe's subject matter revolves essentially around women.
He says, " They (women) are the natural treasures Africans
should be proud of. Through them, our cultures have kept burning.
Our sheer existence depends on their love, perseverance and
labour. But sadly enough, our women are unsung heroes, and their
rights have been trampled upon."
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CREATIVE: Ronex Ahimbisibwe’s
work.
Photo by Rodney Muhumuza |
His dream is to project women in another respectable light,
"one in which they are proud of their psyche, their body,
and their manifold roles in society."
Through blending different materials and techniques, the youthful
artist has been able to achieve most of his visions.
His themes are executed through the blending of acrylics, basco
paints, oils, prints, and inks on all sorts of supports from
sisal to canvass and from cardboard to barkcloth. His palette
is not lacking in colour. In a self- examination of his art,
Ahimbisibwe writes, "This subdued but colourful and nuance
palette and pseudo-naïve execution leads to the subject,
so that a statement about fertility or sexuality becomes a statement
of how to attain those statements."
An anonymous critic, whose comment Ahimbisibwe still cherishes,
described the now 28-year-old's art pieces: "His work is
refreshing. And his meteoric debut the kind of occurrence that
gives one confidence in the future, a fine representative of
African Renaissance…" Indeed, though his work would
not identify him, it still betrays maturity in technique.
Along with four other colleagues, Ahimbisibwe, a graduate of
the Margaret Trowell School of industrial and fine arts, formed
what he calls Index Mashariki, a collaboration that seeks to
take modern, indigenous African art to another level.
- MONITOR, Sept. 20, 2005 -
By: RODNEY MUHUMUZA.
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