Grace Nsimbe stands before one of his artworks being exhibited at Nommo Gallery, the media used is oil and jewellery on canvas with soot as the background colour. PHOTO/Andrew Kaggwa
The story of Grace Nsimbe is one that is very humbling. Over a year ago, he was that artist who, along with a boda boda, stormed rapper and actor Wonder JR’s studio with an art piece. He was looking for Shs30,000 to pay his boda guy.
What happened after that encounter can be likened to the biblical transfiguration story. Wonder JR introduced Nsimbe to friends at Motiv, and he has grown from strength to strength. Nsimbe’s first solo exhibition opened at Nommo Gallery last week. To fully appreciate Nsimbe’s exhibition, you have to understand Motiv’s programme, Black Box.
Black Box offers support and space for emerging and established artists to expand their vocabulary and improve their artistry. The programme caters for three categories of creatives: beginners- those in the mid-journey of their career, and those who are established. Nsimbe is one of the fellows of the programme.
Titled Bare, the exhibition presents Nsimbe’s visual expression that mixes both painting and physical collage such as jewellery, cloth, and craft; on top of that, he experimented with soot to finish the works.
Of course, this is not the first time that an artist has worked with soot; for instance, Weather Mayanja has even created a gallery, where he invites apprentices, who he teaches how to go around the technique.
His Tadoba gallery has been a major push for local artists to adapt or collaborate natural Ugandan colours with the expensive oil and water paints. Nsimbe falls straight into the religion of soot; however, their approach is different. While Mayanja has soot at the centre of his subject matter, the later uses it to highlight detail or create an atmosphere for the subject.
Where Mayanja at times harvests the soot and gets it concentrated on canvas, Nsimbe is smooth and it is clear; most of the time, if not all, the soot on the canvas is fresh from the tadoba flame.
Bare, curated by Marie-Franz Fordjoe, exhibits Nsimbe’s growth both as a painter and, above all, as an open-minded artist, willing to take risks with styles beyond what he already knows.
For instance, when he exhibited at a collective exhibition, Ebilungi at Latitude Hotel, towards the end of 2023, most of his work on display experimented with protruding features, more like a sculpture on canvas.
The work was really busy, from horns, ropes, fabric, and cowry shells all sharing the same space with a sketch, a finer painting, and minimal colour. In fact, he is such a minimalist that most of his works thrive in two or three patterns, yet they stay vibrant.
According to Fordjoe’s curatorial statement, Bare highlights the audacity of vulnerability and the accompanying discomfort and myriad of good that could come from a singular action.
Nsimbe says soot and the tadoba have been part of his story the longest. Tadoba is a fuel lamp usually made out of disposed metallic tins; they are common in Uganda’s rural settings where people can’t afford glass paraffin lamps. Tadobas are usually the affordable alternative.
However, much as they are affordable, these lamps are also hazardous; they are prone to falling off things and thus starting fires, as well as emitting toxic fumes, which leave many with lung problems.
Artists have found ways around soot, some using it to spread a message against waste and others turning it into colour on canvas. Nsimbe went into residency after disaster; his studio in Masaka had been demolished, but the residence was also a blessing. Besides the training, three months after the residence, he got to exhibit with other fellows he was in residence with, Bukenya Joshua and Ntege Jumah.
Then, less than a month ago, he was given a challenge to put together his first solo exhibition. “Marie told me I had been given a solo exhibition at Nommo Gallery; by that time, I had about two complete pieces at the time. I did much of the work on display in two weeks,” he says.
The work on display, he says, is based on emotions he shares with other people.
Besides the art, though, Nsimbe’s exhibition is one of the few Ugandan exhibitions that are self-aware about the times; it is mainly an exhibition of paintings but still incorporates elements such as digital and video.
For instance, all works on display had a scannable Snapchat code, which would directly lead the user directly to a page with the video with the process of making that work.
