JInga Mural ~ A Week of Creative Collaboration and Fun

Working along side my friend Maddy from Scotland, her pals Bob and Georgie from England, local artist, and director of the Community Based Organization working with these 20 plus street kids, Moses, two other Jinga-based artists Angelo and Dillah, and contributions from Lynn, our mural really came together nicely over the course of one week.

We were prepared to paint most of the day, everyday, but due to the unpredictable rain, we were only able to paint for half days on Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesady morning we were out and gearing up to start when these ominous dark clouds rolled in. I tell you, the rain came down in buckets. It was like someone had flipped the switch, from a drizzle to a dump, and in a matter of minutes it was pouring. Thankfully we had made our way to cover in time.

That afternoon, Maddy and I and a few of the boys were prepared to get into motion only to find the compound where we were storing the ladders locked and no one home. So…there was only one alternative….Hop the wall. So up in went, climbing the door and over the 9ft wall into the residential space of several families. I passed the ladders across the wall to Maddy and strategically beneath wires before climbing back across to the other side.

This fun predicament only occurred one other time, and by that point, we simply laughed at the reality of doing a project in Uganda and the troubles of logistics and coordination that seems to be all present wherever you may go.

Our efforts we steady and consistent, working with Mother Nature to ensure we met our goal of a completed mural by weeks end.

Each day was a fun and adventuresome experience working with the boys, and entertaining questions and curiosities from local passer-byers. The boys loved to paint. They were eager and excited to see us arrive each day and thrilled to watch the mural evolve. More than anything, they loved watching themselves appear on the wall.

After tracing them in funky positions with chalk, we blocked out the background to highlight the negative space of their bodies. There were certain laughs in doing this as the boys and one girl had to be held up and balanced on this narrow little ledge for tracing. The final boy, the youngest and one of the most joyful, was flipped upside down for a bit of a variety. During the first flip we lost his shorts, and quickly set him down. Then tying a shirt around his waist, we hoisted him up again. This time, certain to keep his wee peeper under cover.

Aside from a moment of indecent exposure and a bit of creative ingenuity The project went smoothly and with ease. Many people coming out to contribute and participate made this a fun and exciting collaborative effort. On Saturday, Lynn arrived and brought in some new paint, and with the efforts of Maddy, Bob, Lynn, Dillah, Angelo and myself, we wrapped things up on Saturday evening.

Our mural is titled: Our Future Dreams : Abliloto Biafai Abiommaso and is in honor of this group of 20-odd street kids and their vision of a brighter tomorrow.