Donald Wasswa’s Delicate Wooden Creatures Emerge from a Speculative Future
“Lutamaguzi” (2025), Albizia, ebony, and copper, 22 x 17 x 14 centimeters. All images courtesy of the artist and Circle Art Gallery, shared with permission
Donald Wasswa’s Delicate Wooden Creatures Emerge from a Speculative Future
August 12, 2025
Art
Kate Mothes
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Using the wood of silk trees, ebony, and embedded copper details, Donald Wasswa conjures bold forms evocative of imagined living beings. Based in Kampala, Uganda, Wasswa explores the relationships between—and evolution of—science, technology, society, and environmental transformation. Loosely resembling tentacled jellyfish yet somewhat unsettlingly dark and sharp, his sculptures evoke a distinctive tension between familiarity and the unknown; sentient creatures and the stuff of science fiction.
Through the process of manipulating materials, Wasswa considers the secret lives of familiar objects “and how they might in turn determine future humans,” says Circle Art Gallery, which represents the artist. If you plan to be in London this fall, see Wasswa’s works at contemporary African art fair 1-54, which runs from October 16 to 19.
“Kayondo” (2025), Albizia, ebony, and copper, 40 x 26 x 28 centimeters
Detail of “Kayondo”
“Muganzi” (2025), Albizia, ebony, and copper, 40 x 34 x 20 centimeters
“Muhangi” (2025), Albizia, ebony, and copper, 30 x 38 x 30 centimeters
“Gyagenda” (2025), Albizia, ebony, and copper, 34 x 24 x 20 centimeters
“Kyomuhendo” (2025), Albizia, ebony, and copper, 38 x 36 x 25 centimeters
Alternate view of “Muganzi”
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