An interview with Remmy Sserwadda

An interview with Remmy Sserwadda

By Dominic Muwanguzi

‍Remmy Sserwadda (b.1994) is a Ugandan contemporary artist. His works often feature realistic human figures with detailed backgrounds of African prints made mainly from Kitenge. Much of Sserwadda’s work also carries a focus on traditional Ugandan cuisine as a metaphor to interpret and commentate on, among other things, politics, religion, culture, tradition, and society.

Dominic Muwanguzi speaks with the artist for ARAK.

Why do you make art?

I do art because I believe it is a strong voice. I take art to be an industry where artists trade their similar or contrasting opinions on things. Artists find a common ground where their opinions can exist when they present them either in singular or binary form on canvas. Conversely, the saying ‘a picture speaks a thousand words’ makes a lot of sense to me. If someone sees a picture it probably speaks to them in so many ways than they could imagine. Therefore, I use pictures to communicate social, political, cultural and personal views.

Is Africa or the African diaspora a part of your vision? If so, what or which Africa?

Yes. In my art I am intent on portraying what the real Africa is and not the Africa that is depicted on international news platforms. This way I am inspiring Africans in the diaspora to trace and connect with their heritage back home. The major theme in my work is African cuisines and why I chose this theme is because it is something that connects us all as Africans either those living on the continent or in the diaspora. 

Is there anything original in art making? How do you reconcile influence and innovation?

Yes and no. True, we artists stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. This means whatever we are creating has already been created by artists of the past generations. However, within that which already exists, artists can come up with something original. This aligns with the English adage, ‘how to steal like an artist’ which implies you adopt an idea and make it your own artistically. It becomes a new concept and artwork but created through cumulative knowledge you’ve amassed from different artists across artistic retrospectives or those still living. 

But also, there’s another meaning to originality in my own view.  An artist has to listen, watch closer to themselves in order to find originality but also be innovative. It could be that moment when you are walking on the streets and an undertone strikes you and you feel you need to work on it. Immediately, through the power of manifestation you will start painting this idea on an imaginary canvas as a way of bringing it to life. It is advisable for artists to move around with note books to jot down these involuntary ideas and not let them pass by.  

Are you self taught, home schooled, shaped by institutional values?

I am a self-taught artist.

Does art need society to exist? Is art the inspirational core, a reflection of what society is, or can be?

Art needs society to exist because it is from it that we artists pick our ideas. Equally, art is the inspirational core and a reflection of what society is or can be, because art curates society. Almost everything we use in our day to day life has an artistic leaning to it. It could be the infrastructure with its artistic impression or designs, the clothes we wear, even the food which may require improvisation during its preparation and presentation. Art is part of our everyday society just as society is the inspiration for art.

What role do you think art institutions play in shaping the discourse around ‘Contemporary African Art’?

The role played by art institutions can only be appreciated if they develop the career of the artist or facilitate them in finding themselves. Otherwise, if art institutions only dwell on the theory part of art and not the practical, which is the ability to make art by art learners, then they’ll not be serving the right purpose. Equally, gallerists should exercise minimal or at best no intrusion in the artists’ creative process. When art institutions dictate what artists should create, artists become machines working for these establishments.

Do you see a relationship between art and activism within the context of ‘Contemporary African Art’?

Yes. The way exhibitions are chosen and organised today, it shows there’s certainly a relationship between art and activism. I will give an example of the recently concluded Venice Biennale which leaned towards a particular social grouping and almost the whole event became a platform for artists who identified with this group to showcase their work. This and several other coalitions which seek to advocate for their respective agendas through art justify the relationship between art and activism.  

If I said African Art is a global game-changer. What might this mean to you?

African art in my view is still a new phenomenon on the global art stage because of the stories that it peddles.  There’s still so much the international world does not know about the continent and this again explains why I use African cuisines in my work as a medium to invite attention, curiosity and suspense. Anyone who engages with it wants to probe more because the local foods are a representation of our social cultural ways of living.

Race and other identity fixations are commonplace markers in current politic. Is race important? If so, then why? As for other identitarian concerns, how, why do they matter, if at all?

I don’t believe race is important and I illustrate this in my work by deliberately avoiding any skin pigmentation on my subjects. I intentionally use food as a metaphor for the universality of humanity because I believe food unites us regardless of colour or race.

The conversation about identity has gained a lot of traction in recent times, especially when it comes to sexual orientations. This probably is because we’re living in a liberal world where people feel they have the liberty to express themselves the way they want or assume any cultures of their choice. Nonetheless, in my opinion this is going to lead to an erosion of culture and identity in our country. I guess it is time now to streamline all this that is happening by identifying where it should end, otherwise we shall have a chaotic society in future.

How do we calibrate provincialism, nationalism, regionalism, continentalism, globalism? Is geopolitics vital in the making of art?

I will stick to nationalism because it is what is reflected in my art. I use Ugandan food delicacies like, matooke ground-nut soup, luwombo and other elements of our culture to communicate a story about my country and not any other place. When I do this, I am expressing my love for where I come from and this obviously is nationalism. 

In my view, geopolitics dilutes our essence of making African art on the international art stage. We as artists on behalf of our society, we need to passionately promote and protect the African identity and not allow to be swallowed up in cultures that are predominated by the western world. When we concentrate on our identity, we live within ourselves and subsequently find out who we are. 

Is the medium the message? Is supplementary content important?

As a painter, I think the medium is not the message but when it comes to sculptors it can be the message. Supplementary content in art is important because it is that component which adds value to the artwork. For example, when I want to exhibit my work, I have to choose a space which amplifies it so that my audience will be able to engage with it effectively. Similarly, the way I work with the background and foreground in my paintings is intended to give prominence to certain elements in my work such that the viewer finds themselves drawn to it. As such, everything added into an artwork outside of the materials used in its making is important. 

What theme(s) or message(s) do you wish to communicate through your work? Why do think you need an audience and why is it important?

I am basically promoting African cuisines in my work. Unfortunately, we have not given this aspect of our culture that much attention to the extent that when we have visitors in our country, we still want to serve them the foods they’re already familiar with. The irony is that we can never be as good as they are when making their own dishes. In reality, food is a very integral part of our culture and if it is kept away from the visitors, this implies that there’s a big aspect of our culture they’re missing during their visit.

Why I need an audience for my work is because the art I create wouldn’t mean anything if the audience was not there. If I make a painting and keep it away in my house, I will have had no reason why I created it because I will be living inside myself. The message I wish to convey to my audience will be held captive in my house and the whole intent to create will be lost. Artists make art to connect with their audiences. It is great joy for an artist when they get feedback on what they’ve created. It means someone has either understood or misunderstood them. In this case, the latter can also be a good thing.

What role do you think criticism/art writing plays in the contemporary art market? What does it mean for your own practice?

It is through criticism that artists grow. If as an artist I put out false information or a totally contrasting view into the public and I get merciless criticism for it, this will shape my mind to check the facts next time before passing on the message or tread carefully on a particular subject. Generally, criticism pushes artists beyond unimaginable realms. However, it has to be genuine criticism to the extent that it is not also questionable to be thought of as a personal attack on the individual artist. On a personal level, criticism influences my work because as I said earlier, art is a strong voice and because it is, I need to be eloquent with whatever I am saying through my paintings. 

This interview has been edited for brevity and clairity.

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