An interview with Trevor Aloka

An interview with Trevor Aloka

Trevor Aloka (b.1997) is a self-taught mixed-media artist from Kampala, Uganda. Aloka's work is not just an artistic expression but a commentary on cultural dynamics, fear of cultural dilution, and the struggle between traditional and contemporary African identities. 

Dominic Muwangudzi speaks with the artist for ARAK.

Why do you make art?

I make art as a way of understanding the world around me. For example, last year I had just started on a new body of work and one of my relatives fell sick. I found myself interrupting my studio work to attend to them because they had to visit the hospital five times a week.   However, when I had a conversation with one of my friends who is a gallerist about how hard it was for me to divide my time between taking care of my relative and creating art, he told me that I did not have to sit in my studio to create. He advised that it was also possible to create with a camera and sketchbook. With this piece of advice, I started to document the different experiences I encountered at the hospital. I would randomly or intentionally capture the moods and feelings of patients, caretakers and doctors at the facility with my phone camera and later when I returned home, I would juxtapose the images as I transferred them to my sketchbook to get the meaning or story behind them. As I did this, the process helped me understand certain things about the world these people lived in or what they were experiencing during that moment in time. I could understand or attempt to understand why these patients were feeling the way they were feeling. As such, this particular experience fed more into the idea that art helps me understand things more, including my immediate environment.

Is Africa or the African diaspora a part of your vision? 

Yes it is part of my vision. As an artist I believe that if I create solely for my immediate people, I will be in my own cocoon. During my residency in Ghana one of our facilitators at the Faculty of Art, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, told us that it is important as an artist to be part of a global dialogue. What this means is that we as artists are not making art for our local villages although this is equally important to strengthen our connection back home. It is critical that people in our locales understand what we’re doing, in order for us to thrive, but this should never be the end goal of our practice. Nonetheless, I can’t exactly point at this particular thing I am doing to be part of this global dialogue, but it’s a direction I am looking into. One of the things I am doing is seeking inspiration from other artists within East Africa and beyond. I acknowledge the fact that an artist can be more than a creator of art, but also become an audience for another artist’s work. Therefore, as I appreciate other artists’ works, I am getting exposed and connected to a bigger community.

‍Is there anything original in art making? How do you reconcile influence and innovation?

In my opinion, I don’t think there’s anything original in art making because everything we’re communicating has already been communicated before, probably in different ways. When it comes to how I handle influence and innovation in my work, my practice involves working with photography and painting where I use photography as a reference for my paintings. However, during the residency I was tasked to give a presentation of my portfolio and one facilitator pointed out that they could not see photography in my paintings in spite of it being part of my creative process. This remark made me reflect deeper on the subject of innovation in my art and I decided that going forward, I should start integrating my creative process in the finished artwork. For my recent body of work, I am working with light and the way I work with it is not simply painting what light is or what it can do, but I go further to depict it in the work, so that the viewer can feel or experience it as they view the final piece.

Are you self-taught, home-schooled, or shaped by institutional values?

If one asked me this question five years ago, I would say I am a self-taught artist, but now I will say, I am a progressive artist. This is because of the exhibitions I attend or participate in, art residencies I am invited to or studio visits I do. In all of this, I am always learning new ways of doing things from different sources which enrich my practice. 

Does art need society to exist? Is art the inspirational core, a reflection of what society is, or can be?

Yes, art needs society to exist because if it doesn’t, then why should artists create in the first place? Everything around us is raw material for art. Without it, it would almost be impossible for art to exist. This relationship between art and society brings into perceptive how art reflects what society is or can be. I believe art is an expression of oneself and the society they live in, although this can be interpreted differently by different audiences which, again, is a reflection of how each person interprets life.

Does ‘Contemporary African Art’ mean anything to you?

I understand Contemporary African Art as the art of now—the present.

What role do you think art institutions play in shaping the discourse around ‘Contemporary African Art’?

Art institutions play a big role for Contemporary African artists by making it easy for them to create art. When I talk to artists of the older generation, they always say that we artists of this generation are lucky in a sense that we have opportunities to develop our careers.  According to them, back in the day it was difficult for artists to know or connect with other artists beyond this country or region. In the present day, with quite a sizeable number of art institutions, this has changed. I just completed my art residency in Ghana, but this residency was organised and facilitated by art institutions both here in Uganda and in Ghana. This residency did not only give me a chance to improve on my work but opened new opportunities for me to network and collaborate with other artists beyond my country. 

Do you see a relationship between art and activism within the context of ‘Contemporary African Art’?

Yes. At least every artist I know is creating art as a form of advocacy for something. It could be politics, the environment, or humanity. I think activism or advocacy helps an artist to be a part of a global dialogue. As an artist, your voice becomes louder if you’re championing a certain cause. 

If I said that African art is a global game changer, what might this mean to you?

In my opinion, this means African art is now recognised globally because African Contemporary artists have moved away from the ideology of making art only for art’s sake.  We are using our art to discuss issues, ask questions or solve problems and this has made us and our art relevant to the international world.

Is the medium the message? Is supplementary content important?

Yes, the medium is the message because the material and the way it’s handled—the artist’s creative process—is part of the final artwork. For example, while in Ghana I encountered Ibrahim Mahama’s installations and they’re built with materials from his local community. The materials he uses are of a social, political and cultural significance because he deliberately selects them to convey a particular message to his audience. 

What theme (s) or message(s) do you wish to communicate through your work? Why do you think you need an audience and why is it important?

The messages or themes I wish to put across in my work are diverse. I am not the type of artist who works with a single theme in his work because of the nature of my creative process.  Documentation is a major part of the way I create art and during the process of capturing or collecting different materials for my work, I end up conveying different messages or themes in a single artwork. This is evident with the body of work I created during the time I attended to my patient. I could capture one scene at the hospital but it could end up carrying different messages. 

On the part of why an audience is important, I think it plays an important role in being a source of inspiration for the artist as they create. What we usually create is inspired by our immediate community or surroundings. I will give an example of one of my recent body of work where I work with surface and material. Here, I am inspired by the display of merchandise packaged in sachets in the markets by the women. I am inspired by these displays because for me they conjure picture frames which is another element I am working with in this new work.

What role do you think criticism/art writing plays in the contemporary art market? What does it mean for your own practice?

Art criticism/art writing helps me as an artist to improve on my art. If it wasn’t for art criticism, I would be static in my practice. I would still be doing the things I did five years ago but, because I have conversations with people who criticise my work, I am compelled to go forward or move outside my comfort zone.   

Cover artwork: Trevor Aloka, Untitled II. Mixed media, 33 x 48 cm

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