Kizito Maria Kasule

When civil war broke out in North Uganda in 1987, the young Kizito Maria Kasule fled the country, escaping narrowly with his life. Some years later he returned to Kampala and attended the Margaret Trowell School of Fine Art, graduating in 1992. Over the following years he exhibited his work to much acclaim, in Uganda, South Africa and Namibia. In 2003, Kasule completed his PhD in Art History from Makerere University and won a three-year scholarship to study at the Burren College of Art in Ireland.

Kasule opened a school for higher arts education in 2006 in Uganda, called the Naganda International Academy of Art and Design (NIAAD). In 2013 he completed an artist residency at the Slade School of Fine Art, London.

This painting is from a series of work exploring the complexities of democracy in East Africa. Kasule describes that the birds represent the dictators who have failed to respect the rights of citizens and the impassioned demands of the people are portrayed through the expressive faces of the human figures.