Destiny Kirumira
I believe art is a powerful tool for bringing about change. All of my pieces work to dispel the myth that we live in a utopian world. I often take everyday things; things that we see, things that we dismiss as peaceful and passive, and expose them for the violent acts that they are.
My art poses questions surrounding race, gender and politics with the aim of enlightening those of us who have chosen to turn a blind eye to the world’s most grotesque injustices. I use realism and abstraction as tools to focus the viewer’s gaze onto and away from certain figures and subjects. My work discusses themes of identity and representation by inserting contemporary portraits of Black people into inhumane yet realistic depictions of everyday life.
At times, I attempt to reconcile misrepresentation or underrepresentation of Black women in art by embedding myself into my work. I am then directly portraying how I think I, and other Black women, should be painted. This assertion not only places the contemporary portrait as the focal point, but also challenges and questions the depiction of Blackness in art.
Destiny Kirumira was born in Germany to parents from Uganda, and would later on move to Canada. After receiving a BA in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Alberta (U of A) in 2018, she has continued her studies at the University of Calgary in a Master of Architecture. Destiny is also a Black visual artist who attempts to uproot and reconcile the roots of racism in both fields and does so rigorously. Ultimately, all her work poses questions surrounding race, gender, and politics with the aim of enlightening those of us who have chosen to turn a blind eye to the world’s most grotesque injustices.
