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Aids, women’s rights through the eyes of a female sculptor

Wednesday October 04 2017

Ugandan artistes are shouting and singing about living positively with HIV/Aids, instead of discussing the disease in hushed tones.

The artistes are using the creative arts to educate, comfort and declare their status; Ugandan sculptress Lilian Mary Nabulime is one of them.

Nabulime particularly handles the painful episode of living with HIV/Aids with sadness and humour.

“I am HIV-negative but I have had close family members suffering and dying from HIV/Aids,” she told The EastAfrican.

“Forgiving my husband when he tested HIV-positive while I was negative was a real test of courage,” she says in the chapter about her in the book Extraordinary: Significant Women of Uganda by Daudi Karungi.

According to Nabulime, artistes have a role to play as society grapples with challenges like HIV/Aids.

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Nabulime creates wonderful pieces with serious messages on taboo subjects and themes like male-female power relations, race and disease.
“Art is a wonderful medium to portray controversial subjects or taboos. People tend to get offended when they hear offensive or taboo words, but through an art work, you get your message through.”

She is following in the footsteps of the late Ugandan musician and HIV\Aids campaigner Philly Bongoley Lutaaya.

Nabulime, one of the few female sculptors in Uganda, works in a combination of wood and sheet metal, producing monumental sculptures. Carving tree stumps has become her trademark.

“When the wood or logs are plain, I plan ahead by sketching a subject I wish to work on. The subject matter varies: personal experiences, day to day life; designs from clothes, children, beautiful or ugly faces; issues affecting society like HIV/Aids, human sacrifice etc.”

“Through art, you can express your feelings, and through art you can touch other people’s lives,” she said.

“People don’t necessarily have to be educated. If the work is attractive, it draws in people and they start asking questions. As they ask, the information is passed on. They also give you ideas,” she told the Indiana Daily student yearbook.

Nabulime and other female sculptors in Uganda have chosen art over seminars, parliamentary debates and demonstrations to push for women’s emancipation.

She has published widely and held a number of local and international exhibitions. She has also held fund raising HIV/Aids exhibitions in Uganda.

At the “Sculptural Figures,” exhibition held at the Makerere Art Gallery from July 24 – August 24, 2011, a number of her works made of wood, metal, nails, terracotta/fired ceramic clay and textiles were on display.

There was a sculpture titled “Ssebo,” a big grotesque. The face has big expressive eyes, nose and mouth. The sculpture reminds her of the patriarchal society we live in. Men are dominant and usually take control of decisions. They give an impression of fearless, aggressive, powerful and prestigious beings. Also on display were her sculptures of children made of wood and tin and held together with nails and nuts. Tilted “Children,” they symbolise the need for parents to take responsible decisions.

Nabulime’s collaborative works with the American artist, Nicole Fall, on the HIV/Aids virus made of wood, ceramic fired clay and backcloth were also on display.

Nabulime observes that the art scene in Uganda is showing signs of growth, “as more artists are coming up, both self-taught and those taught.”

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