Kenneth Otelu (*1985) in Amuria, North Eastern Region of Uganda.
Otelu is a passionate painter with a keen eye of beauty. He captures and preserves the beauty, culture and traditions of the Ugandan heritage. Although his signature style is the sedamless blend of cubism and African figurative painting on abstract backgrounds. He also does fantastic realism, of which he pays meticulous attention to detail in his works, which give live and depth to is impressions. His main medium of choice are oil, pastels and markers on canvas and paper.

His paintings tap in his painful primary memories in Catholic School performing the way of the cross pray: «…and little me by then struggling to look for anything to reduce the pain being inflicted on my knees while we rotated an knelt before all the images of Christ.»

The fine lines on the painted bodies refer to the tribal rites of painting oneself to please the ghosts. Otelu still had his father in these ornaments, which were completely suppressed by the Colonial Christianization.

Otelu's figurative painting is freed from obsessiveness and orthodox doctrine of salvation, pointing back to his own tribal spirituality full of hope and energy.

At Fondation WhiteSpaceBlackBox Kenneth Otelu has his first European exhibition.