Aaron Samuel Mulenga

From an early age, Aaron was introduced to visual images.

The one place that these stood out the most was in a huge family Bible which had an assortment of colour and black and white images in it. Aaron copied these images and created his own from themes similar to the ones he saw in this Bible.

However, as he grew and obtained a more critical eye, he realised that the images he was looking at constantly and using as inspiration did not look like him or his family.

 

This was a starting point for him to begin engaging with concepts of representation in his work, and ideas surrounding cultural representation and spirituality, particularly related to Christianity and African spiritual representations. His work engages symbolism as a vehicle to explore concepts of power, representation and belonging. His works also explore how cultural heritage objects and masquerade play a part in shaping dominant narratives around African culture.