Richard Atugonza’s New Sculpture Celebrates Body Flaws

Richard Atugonza’s portfolio includes a series of portraits depicting people in his life sculpted from plastic bottles and charcoal

Uganda-born sculptor Richard Atugonza keenly observes life and its beauty in his surroundings. While in high school, he took a special interest in art. In 2019, he graduated from Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine art in Makerere University, Kampala. He majored in portrait sculpting with minors in photography and communication design. The artist recently completed an art residency with Silhouette projects in Kampala.

Atugonza’s portfolio includes the Imperfection Perfections collection, a series of portraits depicting people in his life, sculpted from materials such as plastic bottles and charcoal. The artist initially began sourcing waste plastic material from his university, neighbours and recycling depots as he needed inexpensive material to create his work as a student.

To a certain extent, his art is an extension of a recycling line. Atugonza has exhibited his work at 1-54 Art Fair London 2020, Surfaces Afriart Gallery Kampala 2019 and Walls Speak, Kingdom Kampala, 2019.

Richard Atugonza, Imperfection perfections 10, 2020, Polyethylene terephthalate cast sculpture, H36 x  W65 x  D14cm

His ongoing series entitled Imperfection Perfections celebrates insecurities and body flaws. Through his artwork, his goal is to inspire people to embrace their ‘flaws’ as it differentiates them from others. 

The artist’s latest piece, Imperfection Perfections 8, was inspired by his desire to capture people’s emotions and reactions towards news. The artist explains, “I usually capture different scenes based on posture and body language, so my main inspiration comes from people surrounding me including family and friends.”

Richard Atugonza, Imperfection perfections 8,2020, Polyethylene terephthalate cast sculpture, H45 x  W37 x D22cm

The artist describes his design process: “I call it a reverse technique where I get actual models to recreate a photographed pose. Next, the models are dressed in plaster bandage to get the negative forms of the subject which I manipulate into clay and then edit through the addition and subtraction methods to capture the facial expressions. Finally, I make a mold to prepare for casting.”

Per his signature style, Atugonza uses discarded plastic bottles, lake sand, charcoal residues and other waste materials in his immediate surroundings. Taking four weeks to complete, Imperfection Perfections 8 features unique facial expressions, body postures and imperfections, which distinguish itself from his other works.

When creating sculptures, Atugonza is fuelled by feelings and emotions as a common language, thus allowing his work to resonate with audiences. The artist hopes viewers reflect on and relate to his work and ultimately accept their imperfections. “I would like to inspire people to live fulfilling lives knowing that they are perfect imperfections, and it is okay,” the artist states. 

As an emerging artist and sculptor, Atugonza is constantly working to perfect his craft while experimenting with new materials and methods to enhance his artwork.

Imperfection Perfection series is displayed in Afriart Gallery Kampala, Uganda. For more information visit the website.

Lead image courtesy of Richard Atugonza ( Imperfection perfections 3,2020, Polyethylene terephthalate cast sculpture, H52xW47.5xD18 cm)