Ssenkaaba Samson, know as ‘Xenson’, is one of the most talented and modern artists presently working in Africa. Originally trained as a painter, he quickly found other fields to try out his many talents. Like many artists, film makers and of course musicians, he has been greatly influenced by the hip-hop culture that is so important in Africa. By designing hip-hop clothing for hip-hop videos, he developed into a fashion designer and film maker. As a designer, he even has his own label: Art to Wear. His short film Kakoko, a psychedelic evocation of the death of a chicken, is one of the few absolute classics that short-film making in Africa has. His recent hip-hop videos (such as Muwe bulo) live up to any international comparison. In Uganda, recordings were specially made for use in the installation Creation Lab. The film maker and his crew travelled for this to the distant and remote Kabale region in central Uganda to record the ritual Kiga dance. The painting of the dancers and the recording of the music formed an essential part of this. In Rotterdam, ‘Xenson’ will project his material in a special space. In the space, he will have his own one-off painting performance, an echo of the ritual in Kabale, and one which will also be recorded by cameras and projected in the space, and in this way, the installation will be completed on the spot.
