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Beauty Throughout the Ages
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I’m a Ugandan based self-taught realism artist born in June, 1999. my works are most portrayed with the color pencils, graphite and ballpoint pens, however, my acquired degree in commercial and industrial art at Nkumba university in 2024 has equipped me with knowledge of other medium like acrylic paint. I use my works as a therapeutic tool to the minds in my society through the depicted empowerments and motivation accompanied by my African cultural touch intertwined with biblical truth Skybreaker is a name I created in my early high school time and by the love and attention it attracted over the time of my art journey, I decided to keep it permanent for my art pages and art career. Besides the initial love for drawing, my exploration in realism art stretches from 2015 in my mid high school. Great improvements surfaced in 2018 as I resorted to the passion as a source of income in a period when hopes for further studies seemed shuttered. For the past few years of regular practice and exploration, I have developed the precision and patience of creating realism using the common tools accessible and I aim towards getting more better and learning more from this love letter of creation. This piece celebrates African culture showcasing the beauty and magnificent transition of fashion of African people particularly ladies through jewelry, adornments and clothing throughout the ages of time. I present the adornments and clothing through mixing the red and black pens intentionally to celebrate the color of our people (black) and the oneness and bond of our blood (red). Leading the set is the bark cloth around the chest of the model whose initial making and use is believed to have originated from Africa. It is resourcefully formed from trees locally known as "Mutuba" in Uganda by peeling the inner bark and beating till soft., it’s one of the first fabric known to be made by mankind. Scholars have gone on to prove that the making of bangles and necklaces basically from organic materials like animal skin, bones and trees was diverse in Africa even before the arrival of foreign traders. Including the pair of round beaded bangles on the model's right arm, black waist beads, and the wooden bangles on both arms. The oldest of these have been found in Sudan, Libya and kalahari desert whereas the tribes most known for their exquisite beaded creations include zulu, masai, pokot and turkana tribe. Meanwhile the cowrie shells around the neck and forehead were also a favorite for societies near coast lines but it wasn't till the arrival of foreign traders that they largely penetrated to the interior as a form of money. It’s important to note that even though beauty most influenced these adornments, color added more meaning eg. The black beads symbolize knowledge and red used for tribal festivals. It was after the blossom of foreign trade however, that kingdoms and empires greatly improved and explored the art of metallurgy like the 3-plate metal beaded necklace around the model's neck being one of the exceptional designs early introduced. History interestingly has it that Senegalese among other west African ladies bedecked themselves in such made of gold to communicate cosmopolitan identity, prestige and self-empowerment. The established trade routes around 16th century brought coral, ceramic and amber beads whose evidence stands with the glittering red glass beads at the bottom of the earrings and joint intersection of the 3-plate necklace of the model. Finally, current modernized African jewelry has seen a great upgrade in metallurgy portrayed by the model's patterned earrings, the chained glistening bangles on her left arm and not overlooking the elegant plain ring on her little finger. African jewelry retains its distinct markings even with the modernized touch for example the cow illustrations engraved on the chained bangles which greatly showcase wealth in the African Society. Nevertheless, the art piece overviews beauty and transition of adornments from the very early times.
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For more on the project:
https://www.instagram.com/martins_skybreaker?igsh=MXhqaTB1dTJiMTM0OA==Leave a comment
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