This boyish figure is covered in a ‘skin’ of Ugandan barkcloth and reflects the importance, for all humanity, of our reliance and interdependence on the natural resources that surround us.
The Matuba fig tree is very important to the Begonza people of Uganda for when migrating to new parts, planting a fig tree establishes their territory. The inner bark, which re-grows, is stripped from the tree, stretched, watered and beaten until a thin, richly coloured cloth is formed and used for ceremonial occasions by the chiefs and elders, is wrapped around the new born and shrouds the dead.
photographs by Steve Russell
