Leilah Babirye

The Great Women Artists

Katy Hessel

Arts

4.8 • 877 Ratings

🗓️ 21 September 2021

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In episode 68 of The Great Women Artists Podcast, Katy Hessel interviews the great sculptor, Leilah Babirye !!!!!!!! [This episode is brought to you by Alighieri jewellery: www.alighieri.co.uk | use the code TGWA at checkout for 10% off!] Working across painting, sculpture, to assemblage; on paper, ceramics, wood and more; using carving, burnishing, weaving and wielding, since graduating around ten years ago, Babirye has become one of the most acclaimed and forward thinking sculptors of this generation. Hailed for her experimental processes, Babirye is also renowned for her vital addressing of narratives surrounding identity, sexuality, and human rights, and her frequent use of traditional West African masks as a way of exploring queer identities. Born in Kampala, Uganda, and now working in Brooklyn, NYC, Babirye studied art at Makerere University in Kampala, where she was exposed to some formative teaching by some formidable female sculptors. However, in the wake of Uganda’s 2013 anti-homosexuality bill, Babirye went to NYC where she participated in the acclaimed Fire Island Artist Residency. In 2018, she was granted asylum in the US, and has since risen to prominence with two major solo exhibitions in New York City at Gordon Robichaux. Babirye’s work is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Both mighty and intimate, heroic and fragile, whether it be her paintings, ceramics or sculptures, they never fail to blow me away. Often using wood or ceramics as a base, she then embellishes them with discarded objects collected from the streets, and what results are towering, powerful, glittering regal-like figures, who unite in the form of imagined queer clans. Speaking about her work she has said: “Through the act of burning, nailing and assembling, I aim to address the realities of being gay in the context of Uganda and Africa in general. Recently, my working process has been fuelled by a need to find a language to respond to the recent passing of the anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda.” But! The reason why we are speaking with Leilah today, is because last summer she had an AMAZING exhibition at London's Stephen Friedman Gallery, which we discuss in depth! I hope you enjoy this episode! Further links: https://www.stephenfriedman.com/artists/66-leilah-babirye/ http://www.gordonrobichaux.com/leilah.babirye.html https://www.theartnewspaper.com/interview/leilah-babirye https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/art/leilah-babirye LISTEN NOW + ENJOY!!! Follow us: Katy Hessel: @thegreatwomenartists / @katy.hessel Sound editing by Nada Smiljanic Research assistant: Viva Ruggi Artwork by @thisisaliceskinner Music by Ben Wetherfield https://www.thegreatwomenartists.com/

Transcript

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0:00.9	Hello everyone and welcome back to season six of the Great Women Artist podcast.
0:06.0	In this series, I am so excited to be continuing my partnership with the brilliant
0:10.6	Aligieri Jewelry, who have been supporting the DWA podcast for the last year and a half.
0:16.0	I am excited to tell you about their ongoing partnership with Refuge,
0:20.3	the leading charity helping
0:21.5	women and their children experiencing domestic abuse in the UK.
0:25.7	Last year, the brand raised an amazing over £75,000 for Refuge and have just released
0:31.9	their second Alighieri ex-refuge, Modern Airlum, with 100% of profits being donated to the charity.
0:39.0	The unfolding seed necklace is the second in the anthology of pieces, alongside the glimmer
0:44.2	of light necklace, designed to mark the 50th anniversary of Refuge's first safe house in 1971.
0:51.4	Whilst the glimmer of light marks the opening of the first refuge, the unfolding seeds
0:56.2	represents refuge's amazing journey. The textured surface with intricate crevices and layers
1:02.3	symbolises the difficulty of this path, whilst the delicate shape of the seed celebrates the
1:07.7	beginning of change and new chapters. Listening to people's stories is at the very
1:12.3	heart of Alighieri Jewelry, celebrating our unique vulnerabilities, building each other's
1:17.7	confidence and forging bonds through the universal language of jewelry. Follow the tale on the
1:23.6	at Aligieri underscore Jewelry Instagram and just for our listeners, Aligieri is offering a 10%
1:29.6	discount across all products with the code TGWA at checkout. I hope you enjoy this episode.
1:41.5	Hello everyone and welcome to the Great Women Artist podcast with me, Katie Hessel.
1:47.9	Some of you might know me from The Great Women Artists, an Instagram account I set up in October 2015,
1:53.5	which celebrates female artists on a daily basis, ranging from young graduates to old masters.
1:59.7	Well, in a similar fashion to the Instagram, this podcast is
	...

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