Visual artist Odille Uwera on Monday evening kicked off a solo art exhibition at L'Espace, Kacyiru. Named Untitled, the exhibition which will run until December 14, features 47 artworks among over 100 created by Uwera on her journey towards searching for clarity of vision in her work as an artist as well as her personal life. The story starts in 2020, when Uwera decided to quit her full-time job as an illustrator for an international literacy organization. Six months earlier she had moved out of her parents' house to live on her own. She wanted to expand her horizons and be autonomous with the type of projects she worked on as an illustrator, plus the added bonus of flexible working hours that allowed her to explore her other passions. Uwera became a freelance artist and started rediscovering herself and the world in a different perspective. Almost three years later, with all the responsibilities of autonomy and financial challenges, she found herself doubting the choices she had made for the sake of freedom. Of course, it came at a price and she was exhausted. While she faced the truth and thought about how to move forward, her options were twofold: give up on her dreams and change her life to a rational, low-risk lifestyle or continue doing what she does best and deal with all the consequences. Uwera said she drew the abstract drawings being showcased in the exhibition as a way of recording her indescribable and nuanced process. Each of the drawings carries a story of what was happening in her life while she waited months after months for clarity. Uwera who is an illustrator, a writer and a filmmaker in the making, said she named the exhibition Untitled because the artworks do not portray a single theme, adding that she also couldn't understand what she was going through, which lured her to decide to embrace the process instead of defining it. Her drawings are digital minimalist. She uses black ink on a grey background printed on paper - a style she said she started experimenting with during the hard-to-cope-with times. One of Uwera's artworks named My Landlord Should Have Kicked Me Out By Now was drawn when she was three months late of rent and still couldn't get the money. My landlord was patient enough. He was somehow kind to me and so he added me another month and I paid after it. I am grateful to him. That time was hard for me and I thought of keeping that memory, she said. Uwera disclosed that she has loved art since nursery school as she loved colouring sessions. After graduating from high school, she pursued Creative Design at the University of Rwanda where she experimented with different design forms and later opted for illustration as her niche. She has since worked for different organisations until she became a freelancer. Through Untitled, Uwera wants people to get to know her better. I am opening up to tell people what it is like to be an artist and to recognise the times I went through, she said.
