Katesi Jacqueline Kalange (b. 1995, Ugandan) received her BA in Art and Industrial Design from Kyambogo University, Uganda. She’s currently enrolled in the same institution for her Masters. Her alluring portraits explore a multitude of themes such as women empowerment and cases of gender inequalities and its stereotypes. With recycled materials and acrylic paint; through smudging and palette knife techniques, she revitalizes her protagonist subjects with elegance and composure.

“For this particular series themed women and work; in my quest for truth, I managed to interact with a group of black women first in Uganda, later in Senegal and Ghana; who shared their personal experiences and perspectives in regard to women empowerment and the position of black women in typical homes. By sharing their narratives, they revealed stereotypes that perceive and pigeonhole most black women in homes as caretakers most of their time which limits their ability to fully participate and benefit from development programmes, for instance a black woman’s role in a home is mainly looked at in the perspective of housekeeping, child rearing, fetching water, cooking, and tending to community needs which leaves these women with less or no time to attend to themselves, pursue their education and dreams, hence leading to self-doubt and mental health issues in some extreme cases.”

“Through my practice, I’m not only trying to understand black women’s position in African homes and societies but also I’m indirectly confronting these stereotypes with a dialogue approach seeking to create further discourse both internally and externally amongst the public aimed at culminating innovative ways of co-existence. Additionally, I’m raising questions surrounding domestic work like; is domestic work a gender or basic role? Who looks after women in African homes? How often do women in African homes rest or prioritize their well-being or mental health? Furthermore, I’m encouraging more women to practice self-care as a routine and not live up to other people’s expectations of who they should be if they don’t agree but rather choose to live up to that which gives them peace of mind.”

Kalange lives and works in Kampala, Uganda.