Eyes on: Martin Senkubuge

August 3, 2022

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Here how the story goes… In September 2019, Ugandan artist Martin Senkubuge was showcasing artwork at a group exhibition in Kampala when a woman approached him. She was drawn to a painting of his titled Melanin Tattoo. Ready to pay, she asked him if there was a particular story behind the painting. Senkubuge said the painting, which confronted issues around skin whitening, was inspired by Michael Jackson and how he bleached his skin.

“Artists should do research before presenting their work,” she said, disappointed, and less motivated to purchase the piece. The woman was a Michael Jackson fan and she knew that the late pop star had suffered from vitiligo, a skin disorder that causes loss of skin color in blotches and patches. From that moment, Senkubuge was inspired to learn about the pop star’s relationship with vitiligo.

He would find out that the star had received criticism from the public, on the assumption that he had chose to bleach his skin. If a man of such international acclaim was treated this way, how were those who were poorer treated? In other parts of the world — in remote places where public ignorance thrives — those living with the condition are seen as a bad omen or cursed.

Senkubuge wanted to change that. He soon founded the Part of Us initiative. The main objectives of the initiative are to visually amplify vitiligo voices, fight against stereotypes and stigma, and embrace vitiligo as a natural skin condition using visual art.

In his small studio in the outskirts of Kampala, the 25-year-old artist draws hyper-realistic charcoal portraits of persons with vitiligo. Between April and May, 2022, Sunkubugbe conducted an online survey where respondents revealed that they faced stigma, trauma, emotional stress and social injustice as a result of vitiligo. In his campaign along the way, he has been the recipient of a slew of recognition and external support. In 2020, he won a project grant of 2 million Ushs ($559) from Goethe Zentrum, Kampala (GZK).

Together, with a team of volunteers, he organized a solo show in the premises of GZK throughout April, 2021. Under Part of Us, the exhibition advocated for inclusivity of people living with vitiligo. Recent data from Global Vitiligo Foundation indicates that about 70-100 million people are affected by vitiligo in the world. In Africa, people living with vitiligo are stigmatized for the entirety of their lives. In this interview with OkayAfrica, Senkubuge talks about combating stereotypes around vitiligo and challenges faced by his initiative.

A great initiative that all started with a portrait of Michael Jackson and a fan who educated Martin!