Erinah Fridah Babirye: In Dialogue with Nature

During her residency at the Forster Gallery in May 2025, Erinah Fridah Babirye consciously set out to explore new ground. As she describes it, engaging with unfamiliar materials, rhythms, and narratives became a way to expand her artistic horizon – and to reconnect observation, research, and intuition in a fresh, integrated process.

Erinah, your work reflects a strong connection between human beings and plant life. What have you found especially meaningful about Zanzibar in this context?
I feel deeply connected to the plant life here. It grows both wild and cultivated – much like the stories it holds. For me, it mirrors how we relate to one another as humans: managed on the surface, yet inherently alive and unpredictable. The markets touched me in particular. They pulse with everyday energy, but also carry symbolic weight.

What led you to become an artist?
Art has always been a way for me to make the invisible visible. I grew up surrounded by plants and started drawing at a young age. At some point, I began to see faces in leaves – and I couldn’t stop. I want to reveal the intricate threads that weave all living things together.

What were your goals for your residency at the Forster Gallery?
My intention was to work freely, explore new materials, and deepen my gaze. I wanted to create something that would raise more questions than it answers – and to surprise myself along the way.

Your first painting shows a woman in a bathtub. How does that connect with your overall theme?
Water is a transformative element – and a bathtub is a place of transition. A space between protection and exposure. The woman in the image is both vulnerable and powerful. I see her as a plant in the process of being repotted.

You were in Zanzibar a few years ago. What feels different now?
It feels like the island has grown – not just structurally, but in its cultural openness. Back then, I was more of an observer. This time, I feel like I’m part of something.

Do you already have ideas for what you’d like to explore next?
I’m working on a series where faces are almost entirely covered by leaves. I’m also starting to experiment with paper, inspired by the textures of local fabrics.

Thank you, Erinah Fridah Babirye. It’s been a pleasure to have you as Artist in Residence at the Forster Gallery.

Erinah Fridah Babirye’s path to art

Born in 1998 in Kampala, Uganda, Erinah Fridah Babirye lives and works as an independent artist in her hometown. She studied at the Margaret Trowell School of Industrial and Fine Art at Makerere University in Kampala and graduated in 2017. Her work has been featured in exhibitions across East Africa, including the group show By’abakazi – Reimagining Her World by the Muumba Collective.

She has taken part in several prestigious residency programs, including the Silhouette Project at AfriArt Gallery, the transdisciplinary TERRUR Residency (Transdisciplinary Regenerative Encounter Residency Uganda), and an exchange program with the Goethe-Zentrum Kampala. Her work has been nominated for the Makumbya Musoke Art Prize and she was a finalist for the Tilga Art Fund.