The heART piece

Two weeks ago, I walked into an art gallery in the company of a good friend only to be welcomed by so many shades of colour, shapes, patterns, ticklish scents, paints, brushes all over the floor etc. Asked what I thought about these peices, my mind was crowded. Looking at this artwork, the attraction projected, the energies radiated, the melodies of its curving, the sounds of its sight, it was unfathomable. I realised then that what I actually needed was a moment of silence to draw a deep breath, and align my thoughts.

Art is a mirror of our souls after all, that its perception, cognition and characteristics drew me in. The heart in the art piece.

Everyone definitely has a different interpretation of art with our hearts as the lenses. Sub-consciously or consciously, we read our opinions, beliefs, past and projections into these pieces and even stretch forth to fill in the blanks spaces. We attach different emotions to these and that informs us of how dear to hold them, which gives us a subjective aesthetic experience. I could relate this to our childhood experiences of "walinga". However, the maker has already sketched his own thoughts and heart out until it is wonderfully and beautifully made.

In this gallery, I stumbled across some painting before completion that was honestly quite a mess. I couldn't appreciate it as much as the painter talked and praised it probably because he had an actual master plan or imagination or vision for that matter, about which I was clueless. It was just a work in progress, subject to many alterations, additions and subtractions where the painter deemed it fit. But because I could see how magnificent his previous work was, I had no doubt it was going to be even greater. These painters have capacity to shape generations just by putting brushes to canvas, walls, streets, rocks, bodies etc to reflect many motivational, emotional and cognitive qualities. For instance, much of our African identity (culture) has been passed down to generations through art, dance and music. While words and stories may ghost around, they can be amended but images once put together may fade but they stick with us bearing our still souls.

Earlier in the day, I had a small chat with one of the best artists Uganda has been gifted with. The emotions in his expression about what he does and the source of his inspirations was just humbling. I acknowledged how much little or no importance we attach to the influence of art in our society. For most of us it's just about the beauty it brings to our spaces, we forget the stories it tells, the inspiration, the energy it transfers, and the minds it shapes; no wonder some places are adopting art as a therapy.

Spinning back to the painter, she/he has the master piece because they are the vision bearers. Jeremiah 29:11, one of my favourite verses of the Bible says that "I alone, knows the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you." Until our deaths, God is not yet done with us. I remind us to live in complete obedience with His plans for He has the bigger picture. And guess what! NO eye has seen, NO ear has heard nor a mind conceived what the Lord is yet to do in you.

So when I say you'll have me raw and unapologetic with all my stray paints and itchy edges, embodied in a beautiful mess, i am not just salvaging around but I know the maker of my being. I am a work in progress, trusting the process and owing no one a perfect me. We all have an image to portray and a story to tell. May it all be worthwhile hoping that one day, it will be an image embroidered in someone's survival guide as our legacy.