Waswad, Uganda
Red Nation.
About:
“I create a perfect world by contrasting the realities of greed, hate and wars, with love, peace and justice under my theme called Elephania,” Wasswa describes his work.
Aged 30, Donald Wasswa, commonly known as Waswad, is a graduate of Kyambogo University with a bachelor’s degree in Vocational Studies Arts and Design with Education. Wasswa opted to take on art as a career because his childhood dream was to be self-employed and passion had motivated him to carry on painting.
Adventure Part 1.
Waswad’s whimsical paintings are largely inspired by architectural designs, nature, music and fantasy.
His passion for art didn’t start at school. “Even before joining university, I used to practice drawing at home, which enhanced my experience at school. Then, teachers believed in my talent, thus paid more attention to me as I improved my art life,” he says.
Saving the Best for Last.
The inspiration to grow
“The inspiration for art increased when I joined high school. I got opportunities to attend art exhibitions around Kampala and I got connections and mentorship from various artists,” he reminisces.
In 2007, Waswad and his friends opened Art Punch Studio in Bunga. It is this studio that earned him experience. Waswad brags about being the only student from his university class who is practicing art.
“The other students are employed in other sectors and when I check on them, it seems I am the only one who is doing art.”
Untitled, 2015.
Going professional
About his professional art life, Waswad says he was not challenged because the exposure he had while in school helped him polish his work. “It was more interesting because I knew what it takes to hold an exhibition, so the professional life was just breathtaking,” he says, adding: “My first time in the gallery was 2008 at AKA Gallery where I featured on their platform for upcoming artists and the owner or curator Mary Fisher mentored me to strive higher in my art painting.”(extract from article in Daily Monitor, January 2015)
Statement:
Kampala, installation, 2012.
“Nature, music and any surrounding are my sources of inspiration. For the recent projects I choose to use wildlife to communicate messages and develop my artistic language ELEPHANISH, in which I use symbolism to address social, economic and political issues. I wish to take the audience on a journey through my dreamscapes questioning, answering and debating about sensitive aspects of life. I seek to represent life from different angles using humans and manmade objects in order to highlight the contrasts of nature.”