Spiritual Messenger
- Francis Nnaggenda, Ugandan, b. 1936
Francis Nnaggenda (Ugandan), Spiritual Messenger, 1970's. Metal, 58 1/2 x 13 in. Denver Art Museum: Gift of Robert and Mary Udall, 2001.644
Nnaggenda often uses recycled materials to create artworks; for this sculpture he used recycled car parts. He looks for materials in the world around him, taking objects he finds and transforming them into something new. His passion for found objects may reflect his interest in exploring “the inner life of things.” In reference to the human form he says, “I find myself closer to the human beings because they influence me more than anything else. I am a human being expressing human experiences. But again my interpretation of human beings is inseparable from their surroundings. My figures and forms are not mere imitations of nature. I am more interested in the inner life of things.” Nnaggenda illustrates this idea in one of his poems:
The dead are not under the earth
They are in the tree that rustles
They are in the woods that groan
They are in the water that runs…
Those who are dead are not gone
They are in the child wailing and in the fire that flames…
When my ancestors talk about the Creator, they say:
He is with us…We sleep with him.
We hunt with him…We dance with him.
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