The Observer (Kampala)
Frank Kisakye
4 November 2009
Kampala — For Kiganda Vincent, creating a brand identity for himself was his dream even before graduating from Makerere University. Now, fresh from campus and endowed with a Bachelor's degree in Art and Design, Kiganda has befriended the environment from which he draws his inspiration. Most of his art themes rotate around wildlife and human interest stories.
In one of his pieces - The Struggle of Mothers- he interprets a mother's wading through hardships. The roped up poles unto which she is hanging and supporting herself are loosely grounded, but the love, hope and faith to save her child on the back draws her on.
"I try to brand myself and do advanced batik, very unique and purely my creations. My ambition is to create my own identity, I also try to use bright and attractive colours," he says.
"You see, attractive colours are like flowers to bees," he adds. Indeed you can hardly fail to notice his paintings. Even though he mostly does batik like most artists, his are unique and blended with multi and mixed media like natural feathers, sack cuttings and seeds among others. He also uses oil colours.
Like any struggling and upcoming artist, Kiganda has no sales exhibition studio apart from his home studio in Wakaliga off Rubaga road. But his ambitious attitude landed him an exterior and interior design contract for Niwako Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. His other trademark is the elongated pictures which he says define him.
"Since my customers love and like them, I see no harm in continuing with them," Kiganda told The Observer at his exhibition stall during the WAPI pictures and music festival at Africana Hotel recently.
Just to supplement his meager income he also does sculpturing, landscaping and graphics.
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