Muramuzi’s study of the atmosphere engendered by COVID-19 is remarkable for the exuberant composition as well as its immortalization of the pandemic’s toll on school-going children: lots of kids really did get pregnant during the lockdowns. But Muramuzi exploits color to make this a lively picture despite the gloomy story behind it, as if reaffirming that life and death are two sides of the same coin. The picture was executed during a difficult period for Muramuzi, as for many other Ugandans, but in this work we see the textured beginnings of the singular style that has made his work attractive to collectors in the region and elsewhere. Muramuzi describes his style as “villagism,” a visual language in which the village boy in him – the village boy he once was – takes over the canvas and leads us into a world full of wonders. In art, to be clear, Muramuzi is going to cause a storm.
