Modern batik: Kibuuka empowers young artists

Bulange Mengo — the all-white grandiose seat of Buganda Kingdom throbs with energy. Men — resplendent in long white tunics and oversize blazers. Women with drooping busuuti roam the concrete and green royal compound of one of Uganda's prominent traditional kingdoms.

In a well-manicured grass corner of its expansive yard, royal subjects sit under a white tent — listening to the goings-on of an important meeting. The excitement; the attention; the discipline.

Atal displaying the gomesi made from Yiga's designs

Inside the tall imposing white building, far more subtle activities are going on. The king's men are going about their daily errands. Up and down the wooden stairs — to meet this or that deadline. And in one of the rooms — in the basement of the building, young men and women sit hunched over cluttered wooden tables, paintbrushes in their hands, sketching away on hard white canvas surfaces.

Stacks of colour pencils, small containers of paint and bottles of mineral water surround them. A dark, medium height gentleman, dressed in a chequered grey shirt and khaki pants, carefully moves through the different groups of sketching youth, looking over their work; commenting, correcting and supervising the exercise.

It is December 10, the last day of a training workshop on modern batik painting for the youth in Buganda region. The workshop is being conducted by David Kibuuka, a renowned Ugandan painter who works in Toronto Canada.

In collaboration with the Nnabagereka Foundation, the development and cultural arm of the office of the queen of Buganda — Nnabagereka Sylvia Nagginda, Kibuuka spent several weeks here, teaching 13 young people the modern batik techniques used to make designs for various items. The beneficiaries are part of a bigger group that has benefitted from his batik workshops which have been going on for more than a year in different parts of Uganda.

The scheme introduces learners to the application of wax and dyes to fabric, followed by composition, pattern and design studies. It also covers important aspects of design and toning, as well as portraiture. At the end of the course, learners are able to produce various domestic and fashion accessories and also paint. After training many young people from different parts of the world in modern batik painting skills, Kibuuka feels that time is right for him to bring the skills back home. "This is about empowering the youth to create sustainable products using sustainable modern batik techniques," Kibuuka says.

On successful completion of this stage, these young people will then advance to the masters stage, where they will learn about marketing, patenting and packaging their work for sale. They will also be ready to train fellow youngsters with the acquired skills. Exploring culture and nature The youth in this workshop used local themes to sketch intricate and colourful designs. Their patterns depict cultural symbols like drums, as well as scenes from nature and daily life.

Raw creativity is evident in the soft, nearly innocent rendering of colour, design and craftsmanship by these twenty-something youngsters. Twenty-one-year-old Zahara Nanfuka spent almost three days sketching deep-orange and yellow patterns on her canvas.

By the third day of the training, a clean kaleidoscope of butterflies had formed against the white background of her canvas. Even in its raw form, her piece of work would make a beautiful tablemat or material for curtains. "I always wanted to be a fashion designer," Nanfuka explains.

"Learning modern batik designs will enable me to inch closer to my dream," she says. In another corner, Rashid Nyombi bends over the table, stroking away the rough edges to his evolving colourful tapestry. The red, leafy tongues on his canvass create an interesting symmetry of floral patterns that would make a good dress or scarf. "I realise how much I can do with batik; I love the possibilities and freedom it has given me to explore and discover," he says.

Such has been the youngsters' effort here that the Nnabagereka chose one of them to make a design for a gomesi she would wear at one of the year-long 10th anniversary of kisakate events this year. The chosen pattern was designed by Hassan Yiga, a 21-year-old art student at Mutesa I Royal University in Mengo. The design depicts parallel patterns of the long and main ganda traditional drums — on a golden background. Apart from portraying a ganda cultural symbol, the design also speaks to the creativity of the young upcoming artist.

"A drum is central to Buganda culture, that is why I chose to design it," Yiga says, unable to conceal his excitement at having been selected to make the design for Nnabagereka's dress. "For me it was an endorsement and a challenge to continue working hard," he adds.

Yiga's design was handed over to fashion designer Stella Atal to sew it up into the finished gomesi that the Nnabagereka will soon wear. In an era where Ugandan youth are seeking to add value to their theoretical knowledge, sustainable modern batik painting seems to be a good avenue for young minds to explore their creative potential.

About David Kibuuka

Kibuuka is a Ugandan visual artist based in Canada. He is a painter and art instructor in modern batik painting. Since October last year, he has been conducting modern batik art workshops in East Africa.

From Kigali in Rwanda to Arusha in Tanzania he has trained young people of different ages and school levels in the application of this little explored technique in the region.

He was born in 1962 and raised in Uganda. He attended Kitante High School. In 1976, Kibuuka fled the raging political instability in Uganda and went into exile in Kenya. With support from his brother, Henry Lumu, Kibuuka started producing batik paintings.

In 1982, he left Kenya and settled in Canada, where he has been practising art for the last 32 years as a painter, entrepreneur and instructor. He designed the mother and child greeting card which the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) sold and distributed to different parts of the world to raise funds for several children-related causes.
His work was also used to raise funds for World Vision Canada's HIV initiative for Africa.

What is Batik all about?

Batik is a technique where wax is applied to fabric using water soluble dyes. Traditional batik dates back many years. This technique was introduced to East  Africa from Java, Indonesia in the 1960s. It was widely used, especially in Kenya in the 1970s and 1980s and picked up by Ugandan artists who fled Amin's tyranny in the 70s to live in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital. These include Henry Lumu, Nuwa Wamala Nnyanzi, Daniel Sekanwagi, David
Kibuuka and Waswa Katongole.

Modern batik technique is a fairly recent phenomenon however. While it is essentially similar to traditional batik, it differs slightly in its approach to art. "What makes it different is the way wax and dyes are applied to the fabric," says Kibuuka.

According to www. modernbatikworkshops.com, modern batik uses repackaged application of dyes and wax that
enhance the detail of an image on fabric. Resistant dyeing used in this technique results into deep, unpredictable and rich texture and tones. It can be realistic, pictorial or expressive. It often is a versatile medium and very interesting.