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    Donald Wasswa’s Delicate Wooden Creatures Emerge from a Speculative Future

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    “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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      Masakatsu Sashie’s Mysterious Spheres Hover Over Post-Apocalyptic Landscapes

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      “TOKI.” All images courtesy of Masakatsu Sashie, shared with permission

      Masakatsu Sashie’s Mysterious Spheres Hover Over Post-Apocalyptic Landscapes

      December 2, 2024

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      Encircling eerie orbs, architectural elements and neon signs hover above urban landscapes and fields of detritus in Masakatsu Sashie’s oil paintings. His fantastical, post-apocalyptic scenes envision Earth “as a representation of the universe,” the artist tells Colossal.

      Sashie adds, “This led me to the idea of symbolically expressing the sphere. My inspiration came from designs that feature circles symbolically composed within rectangles, such as the Japanese national flag, Hanafuda cards, and mandalas.”

      “Phantasm (night)”

      Sashie begins by gathering images related to a theme, such as signage, aging buildings, or retro motifs. He works from his own photographs, in addition to images he finds online. Likening the composition to a two-dimensional assemblage, he then merges all of the shapes into floating globes, rendered in oil on canvas.

      Devoid of people, Sashie’s landscapes interrogate the nature of mass consumerism, waste, and aging infrastructure. Like some of sci-fi’s most iconic spaceships—think the Death Star from Star Wars—the illuminated spheres appear to run on inexplicable sources of energy, leaving their internal workings or possible inhabitants a total mystery.

      If you plan to be in Melbourne in May, Sashie’s work is slated for an exhibition at Outré Gallery, followed by another show in July at i GALLERY in Osaka. In the meantime, dive deeper into the artist’s imaginary worlds on Instagram.

      “Phantasm (day)”

      “Echo”

      “Concrete”

      “Shield”

      “Hall”

      “Boiler”

      “SYMBOL パ”

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    • 150 Shares159 Views

      in Art

      Eerie Graphite Drawings Encase Aliens and Sci-Fi Experiments in Looming Stacked Towers

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      Art

      #aliens
      #drawing
      #graphite
      #science fiction
      #technology

      September 21, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “Engineering Consciousness.” All images James Lipnickas, shared with permission
      New Haven, Connecticut-based artist James Lipnickas conjures towering sci-fi structures filled with futuristic labs, clashes with aliens, and massive laser beams shooting from rooftops. Working in graphite, Lipnickas uses heavy shading to shroud his architectural renderings in mystery and unfamiliarity as tentacled creatures crack through the walls and humans become science experiments. “This series really grew out of my interest in advanced technologies integrating with humans and how it shapes us moving forward,” he says.
      Amidst the machines and eerie contraptions, the artist interrupts each building with a level containing a garden bed or an illuminated tree grove. “The future holds many unknowns (technology and lifeforms).  We can’t forget the natural world while we move further from it,” he says.
      Before the end of the year, Lipnickas will show some of his works at Chicago’s Vertical Gallery and in a few virtual exhibitions with WOW x WOW. You can find more of his drawings, and keep an eye out for an expansion of the series shown here, on his Instagram. (via Jeroen Apers)

      “Through Different Identities” (2021)
      “Way of the Future” (2021)
      “Intelligent Machines” (2021)
      “More than Human” (2021)
      “A Simulated Reality”
      “Techno Human” (2021)

      #aliens
      #drawing
      #graphite
      #science fiction
      #technology

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      in Art

      New Articulate Cardboard Sculptures by Greg Olijnyk Populate Miniature Worlds of Fantasy and Science Fiction

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      Art
      Craft

      #cardboard
      #insects
      #light
      #robots
      #science fiction
      #sculpture

      May 20, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “DvG 2.0.” All images by Griffin Simm, © Greg Olijnyk, shared with permission
      An eerie pair of buildings, a jet-powered dragonfly, and a sci-fi-inspired retelling of David and Goliath complete with an oversized robot and samurai comprise the latest cardboard sculptures by Greg Olijnyk (previously). Fully articulate and outfitted with LED lights and glass where necessary, the extraordinarily detailed works are futuristic, slightly dystopic, and part of larger world-building narratives. The architectural constructions, for example, are “the start of a series of pieces exploring the fear, fascination, and curiosity aroused by the stranger in our midst. The weird presence out of place. The building of unknown purpose with no windows and with lights flickering at night,” he says. “What’s going on in there?”
      Olijnyk is based in Melbourne and shares works-in-progress and more photos of the machine-like sculptures shown here on his Instagram.

      “DvG 2.0”
      Detail of “DvG 2.0”
      “Dragonfly Bot”
      “The New Neighbours,” 80 x 75 x 30 centimeters
      “The New Neighbours,” 80 x 75 x 30 centimeters
      Detail of “The New Neighbours,” 80 x 75 x 30 centimeters
      Detail of “Dragonfly Bot”
      “Dragonfly Bot”

      #cardboard
      #insects
      #light
      #robots
      #science fiction
      #sculpture

      Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!

       
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