YAO
an immersive video installation
YAO is an immersive three channel video installation rooted in a personal take on Lango ancestry. Sound, poetry and sensual visuals transport us to the village of Otuke where we witness the artistry in making Moo Yao (Shea butter).
Rooted in autobiographical research, YAO is the first offering in a body of work that traces the artist’s biracial heritage through the migratory paths of her Ugandan grandfather and her German grandmother.
At its core, YAO is an intimate meditation on healing, intergenerational memory, and cultural resilience, articulated through the story of the Northern Ugandan Shea Tree and the tactile, ritual process of making Shea butter.
Set in the village of Otuke in Northern Uganda, YAO honours the Shea tree not only as a holy symbol in Lango culture, but also as a living witness to a land scarred by several wars that took place in Northern Uganda.
Stokvel Gallery, Johannesburg
initially conceptualized as a three-channel piece, the installation has since evolved into a site-responsive installation, adapting organically to its context—mirroring the fluid, adaptive nature of biracial identity.
Projected onto bark cloth, a traditional Ugandan textile made from the bark of the Mutuba tree, the work MATERIALIZES the link between land, body, and memory.
Showings:
Kla-Art Festival, Kampala: August 2024
32 Degrees East, Kampala: Mufoka: 27. March 2025
Patterns x Mona Okulla Obua, Johannesburg, Stokvel Gallery: 31. July 2025
additional showings tba
Otuke Village, Northern Uganda