Artist Statement

Like a Muganda Girl is a collection of photos that celebrates the joys and hardships of growing up as Ugandan girl in both the United States and my home town, Kampala. The first few images picture me and my sister after raiding my mothers closet with vibrant colors, maximalist jewlery, and patterns and fabrics that bring us comfort and joy. The way I’m sitting in the second image is the proper way Muganda (my tribe) girls are supposed to sit. Being civilized is a prominent part in my experience in girlhood especially in Kampala. I curated this set in our family home in Cincinnati as this is where we grew up and wanted to symbolize the joy that comes with growing up together as sisters. Sisterhood is such an important part of growing up and is such a significant part in my story growing up in two countries.

I also have a lot of collage images with red lips and red hair as the color red was always a symbol of promiscuity growing up. It was very frowned upon and seen as improper so I wanted to play with this color in specific to show the beauty in it but also to symbolize growing up in a different environment that is ever changing.

The bottom few images are symbolic of growing up in the states and feeling disconnected in my Ugandan heritage. I feel like as I’ve grown older I’ve lost the civilized way of living and have grown to adapt to more casual, “American” settings.