“If you don’t believe in yourself, whatever you are doing is for no reason.”
BIBI BOURELLY.
For so long and for so many reasons, I didn’t believe in Ugandan art. I deemed it unsuccessful on so many fronts and for so many reasons; with what it had to say, with the seemingly narrow construction of definition I felt it was given, that poured into an even more seemingly constricting understanding of what I saw it used for. Furthermore, for me Ugandan art was immersed in a culture, that although I belonged to, unfortunately, I didn’t understand and did not want understand albeit it being my own. My mind belonged to the aesthetics of another hegemony, and so my tastes aspired to that standard, in the realms those standards dwelt and that wasn’t Uganda.
At that time and within this mindset, I had some things right, but they were very few. Everything else was devastatingly and absolutely wrong and misunderstood, and expectedly so. I was completely out of touch with the material facts of the situation. I didn’t understand Ugandan society I was part of and I had no desire to, so I could never understand its art as a reflection of it. Even more ironic is that within all this cognitive dissonance, I aspired to be an artist in Uganda, for Uganda as well. I struggled in great doubt with my own art for such a while because I hadn’t touched the surface in thinking about who I was- a Ugandan and whom I wanted to be an artist for- my society.
Meet Max Bwire; aUgandanartist that has thrived, from the foundation of an artistic education, within the structure of an artistic profession, by the presence of such passion and creativity by being someone relatable to and something believeable; all in her strength and decision to decide who she is- an artistic matriarch.
I first met artist Max Bwire as a teenager, when most of what is that former mindset, existed for me about Ugandan art. My brother and his band had taken the coolest band pictures I had ever seen, I had to ask twice if the pictures were taken in Uganda, and then also, even by a Ugandan. I look back at this moment all these years later and I can finally understand the reason for my authentically innocent yet vastly ignorant questions because, it is only now I understand the capabilities of Uganda and their artists, through artists in their brilliance like Max.
She believed in what she was doing and you saw it with her art. Artists like these and many more, with their confidence and deliberate action in stepping out with their artistic dreams, change more than just my mind, I’m sure; they guide with vision and lead in the steps they are taking.
The thing is that I had honestly never seen a Ugandan artist do something like that and so it came as a shock that any Ugandan artist could. Yet, when I finally dared to open my eyes, there are so many Ugandan artist and female artists, deep diving into the discovery of Ugandan artistry, its role and purpose and relevance to self and society. So many artists have found the strength and confidence to continue by delving into the true, real and deeper meaning of “art”, “artistry” and “success” for themselves and thus for the society they are part of. Max is part of those people and so I celebrate her artistry. I celebrate her.
For so many artists, art is that friend you made when life became too complicated to decipher alone. Art was the sounding board you discovered life with. The conclusions and questions came and revealed themselves in the final expression; the song, the dance, the picture, the painting. Now, I know another breed that receive way before the final product and in fact, within the process itself; as the words and melody gather themselves line by line, verse by verse, as the arm is lifted over the head and a graceful pose struck, as the pencil moves to make out figures, before the colors are added- in all that, they live and exist and be and it because they have decided that the process and the product are one flowing river of decision and choices.
MAX: “This is probably going to sound cheesy but, art is my love language. It’s how I communicate, how I speak, listen, engage, empathize, acknowledge and create. I guess there’s not one way to define art, because it is really open to interpretation by the viewer or listener. Nonetheless, I hope my Art creates and provides a true sense of belonging, presence and experience, good or bad.”
Max is a photographic artist that thrives in a whole new way and world of being human; with one eye closed and another looking through a lens to capture the human story in its intricate complexity.
MAX: “Last year I realized that I’ve actually loved taking photographs since I was a child. My first personal camera was a penguin camera that I bought myself (of course using money from the rents ) while on a school trip to England. I think I was about 10 years old. I had carried my mom’s camera with me which was literally mine because I used it more than she did, but I remember being so excited about having my own camera, the film, and having to print the pictures I had taken.
The reason I’m sharing this is because for a while I thought that being a photographer sort of just happened because I went to University and was quick to choose photography as one of my electives so I get to use a film camera, I guess it’s always been a little part of me, something about our subconscious and some of the things we enjoy doing as children that somehow get lost in the wind as we grow especially into and through fixated education systems and societies.
One of my important milestones was when I did my major project for my BA and I thought my tutor at the time was giving me hell over it, sending me back and asking me to dig deeper and push my boundaries. I was documenting mood swings of a pregnant woman conceptually and ended up falling in love with the process and my work. After I put my pictures up in the little exhibition space I had been allocated, I remember feeling extremely proud and thinking, I love this, I want to do more of this.
I have a BA in Industrial & Fine Art, and an MA in Photographic Studies. I believe that there is a lot more to photography than just knowing how to use a camera or owning a really good one. I think my MA especially really directed my focus right now, I’m more intentional and have a greater understanding of imagery way before my time and now. Understanding the aesthetics has greatly influenced me.”
I personally have been very moved by the motivations and fruit of Max’s projects, and within this I see someone who has found such a brilliant way to be through a vicarious spectation of the intense sport that is life. Her most recent work is “The Men’s Project” that gathered 13 men and asked them questions, whose answers provided great understanding to the general question, “What does it mean to be a man?” This project analyzed these men’s perceptions of success as men, their relationships with their fathers and grandfathers, their father’s relationships with their mothers and very pertinently I believe, emotion and emotional vulnerability for men.
Preceding this men’s project, was another project in which she celebrated Ugandan female artistry. Here is what she had to say about it;
” I’ve never thought of photography as a “man’s profession”. I never did think about it really until I started getting questions from people about what it was like to be a female photographer. My undergraduate photography tutor was a woman. That pushed me out of my comfort zone and I have since been inspired largely by female photographers. As a matter of fact, 80% of the most creative people I know and draw inspiration from are women willing to remain persistent through it all.”
http://www.maxbwire.com/work/women-in-arts/
I asked her who some of the most meaningful female artists in her life were;
MAX: “Sometimes its hard to find artists you feel relatable to. For a while my only inspiration came from white females. They were all I knew, until I started being very intentional about my social media and who I follow. I have since discovered a lot of Black Females doing amazing work and some of them are East African. Their work may be similar or completely different from mine but its amazing. Artists like Sarah Waiswa, Thandiwe Muriu, Lyra Aoko, Yagazie Amezi, and even my own friends Ethel Nshakira and Shari Mwanika inspire me greatly.”
Max is one of the artists, that through her profession has been able to think, question and seek the true nature and meaning of gender roles and responsibility, the ambits that those create and eventually how is affects herself as a woman.
MAX: “Before anything I identify as a human being, as Max, then as a woman, a black woman, a daughter, a sister, a friend. It bothers me every time someone asks me what its like being a photographer and female. No one asks men what its like being a man and whatever profession it is they choose to be. I never thought about my gender when it came to my profession until other people started to ask me what it felt like as a woman. We attach so much importance on gender and roles.
I haven’t had any pressure from anyone not even my parents to be a certain kind of woman, study something or do a certain kind of job. There are obviously some insecurities that come from being an artist and they probably used to worry mother in the beginning and had her suggesting different jobs that seemed more secure and stable and she still does to this day, but she also understands to let go when I tell her I’m not interested. I get to decide who I want to be as a person, I don’t let society do that for me.”
Therefore, to other female artists in Uganda starting out in light of her own experiences she says;
MAX: “Be your own person, you decide what artist you want to be and be intentional about it. It’s obviously no bed of roses .( I don’t actually know why we use this idiom, because roses are thorny!) A lot of fear, pressure and self doubt can arise from deciding who or what you want to be as a person, but we can’t let fear be the little thing that stops us now can we?”
I take this to heart in so many ways because by delving deeply, you don’t come back to the surface only with the knowledge of the good, but as well with a much more intimidating danger and occurrence and existence that threatens to shatter the foundations of all those conclusions you delved deeply to make.
Nonetheless, I am glad to celebrate artists like Max who realize that sometimes, somebody is all that they are, because they decided to be.
One is who they are because of their decision to be after all.
augandanartist.com 