Artwork by Richard Atugonza (left) and Charlene Komuntale (right)
Artwork can leave itself open to more questions than answers. And for many creators, that’s the point. They leave us to consider the concepts and themes raised in their work, allowing us to bring our thoughts and experiences into what we’re seeing. It’s a mental collaboration that combines the worlds of artist and viewer.
Two Ugandan artists invite us to contemplate each of their works and reflect on the themes and questions their pieces inevitably raise. Richard Atugonza and Charlene Komuntale were the exhibiting artists at Afriart Gallery at ART X Lagos 2025, which ran from November 6 to November 9, 2025, at the Federal Palace in Lagos, Nigeria.
Atugonza and Komuntale each create artwork that looks different from the other’s, but they converge in the themes and ideas they explore. They examine our inner and outer worlds and how we navigate and make compromises between them. Their works reflect on finding meaning through societal structures: labor, beauty, and identity.
For Atugonza, that means reconsidering the concept of “working out.” While the term refers to physical exercise, often in a gym, here, he has thought about it more broadly. “Working out” transcends the gym and envelops overall endurance, commitment, and perseverance—the building blocks of living.
Atugonza employs another symbol of the gym, however, and uses dumbbells as a metaphor for the emotional burdens we carry, which affect how we deal with life’s challenges. The sculptures feature figures in repose with contemplative body language. As they reflect, the weight—perhaps once an unbearable load—becomes easier as they are strong enough to hold it.
Komuntale displayed pieces from her ongoing body of work titled Threads at ART X Lagos 2025. The series focuses on beauty, namely how it is constructed, inherited, and ultimately internalized. Using beading, thread, and corsets, Komuntale looks at the tensions that arise from dueling ideas: freedom and control, adornment and labor, exposure and restraint.
Threads features multiple objects, including open books with beading stitched on the pages and certain phrases underlined in thread. But her decorated corsets prove her most compelling pieces, ripe with symbolism. Historically, corsets were a means of restricting women’s bodies and sculpting them into an idealized form. Now, if they are worn, it’s (mostly) by choice and a form of self-expression. This duality strikes at the heart of Komuntale’s work. She has torn off the outer fabric of the corset with beading underneath and painted portraits of women pulling at the corset itself. The act represents how beauty is a balance of tensions: self-expression and construction shaped by our societal structures.
Through both of the artists’ works, there is much to consider; we’re all part of society, after all, but despite these ideas and feelings being universal, everyone experiences the world differently. The contemplative nature of these pieces allows us to both appreciate Atugonza and Komuntale’s artistry while offering a place for ourselves within it.
Scroll down to take a look at the work that Atugonza and Komuntale showed at Afriart Gallery at ART X Lagos 2025.
Richard Atugonza and Charlene Komuntale were the exhibiting artists at Afriart Gallery at ART X Lagos 2025, which ran from November 6 to November 9, 2025, at the Federal Palace in Lagos, Nigeria.
Richard Atugonza, “One for the Road,” 2025. Charcoal, Resin and Sawdust, 23×19.5x34cm, ©Richard Atugonza, Courtesy of Afriart Gallery and the Artist
(Photo: Ekolu Emmanuel and James Wasswa)
Atugonza’s work reconsiders the concept of “working out.”
Richard Atugonza, “One for the Road,” 2025. Charcoal, Resin and Sawdust, 23×19.5x34cm ©Richard Atugonza, Courtesy of Afriart Gallery and the Artist (Photo: Ekolu Emmanuel and James Wasswa)
Richard Atugonza, “Market Day,” 2025. Charcoal, Resin, Sawdust, wood, 25x24x26cm ©Richard Atugonza, Courtesy of Afriart Gallery and the Artist. (Photo: Ekolu Emmanuel and James Wasswa)
Richard Atugonza, “Market Day,” (detail) 2025. Charcoal, Resin, Sawdust, wood, 25x24x26cm ©Richard Atugonza, Courtesy of Afriart Gallery and the Artist. (Photo: Ekolu Emmanuel and James Wasswa)
Richard Atugonza, “Market Day,” (detail) 2025. Charcoal, Resin, Sawdust, wood, 25x24x26cm ©Richard Atugonza, Courtesy of Afriart Gallery and the Artist. (Photo: Ekolu Emmanuel and James Wasswa)
While the term refers to physical exercise, often at a gym, here, he has thought about it more broadly.
Richard Atugonza, “Owe Kiggalli,” 2025. Charcoal, Resin, Wood, Net, 21x18x21cm ©Richard Atugonza, Courtesy of Afriart Gallery and the Artist. (Photo: Ekolu Emmanuel and James Wasswa)
Richard Atugonza, “Owe Kiggalli,” (detail) 2025. Charcoal, Resin, Wood, Net, 21x18x21cm ©Richard Atugonza, Courtesy of Afriart Gallery and the Artist. (Photo: Ekolu Emmanuel and James Wasswa)
“Working out” transcends the gym and envelops overall endurance, commitment, and perseverance—the building blocks of living.
Richard Atugonza, “Sessions,” 2025, Charcoal, Resin, Sawdust, 20x17x33.5cm ©Richard Atugonza, Courtesy of Afriart Gallery and the Artist. (Photo: Ekolu Emmanuel and James Wasswa)
Richard Atugonza, “Sessions,” (detail) 2025, Charcoal, Resin, Sawdust, 20x17x33.5cm ©Richard Atugonza, Courtesy of Afriart Gallery and the Artist. (Photo: Ekolu Emmanuel and James Wasswa)
Richard Atugonza, “Sessions,” 2025, Charcoal, Resin, Sawdust, 20x17x33.5cm ©Richard Atugonza, Courtesy of Afriart Gallery and the Artist. (Photo: Ekolu Emmanuel and James Wasswa)
Komuntale displayed pieces from her ongoing body of work titled Threads.
Charlene Komuntale, “Threads of Eden,” 2025. Digital Print on Fabric, Beads, Threads, Yarn, Satin, Tulle and Mesh, measuring tape, 106x53cm ©Charlene Komuntale, Courtesy of Afriart Gallery and the Artist Photos by Ekolu Emmanuel
Charlene Komuntale, “Threads of Eden,” (detail) 2025. Digital Print on Fabric, Beads, Threads, Yarn, Satin, Tulle and Mesh, measuring tape, 106x53cm ©Charlene Komuntale, Courtesy of Afriart Gallery and the Artist Photos by Ekolu Emmanuel
The series focuses on beauty, namely how it is constructed, inherited, and ultimately internalized.
Charlene Komuntale, “Threads among Flames,” 2025. Digital Print on Fabric, Beads, Threads, Satin and Mesh, Yarn, Organza, 110x85cm ©Charlene Komuntale, Courtesy of Afriart Gallery and the Artist. (Photo: Ekolu Emmanuel)
Charlene Komuntale, “Threads among Flames,” (detail) 2025. Digital Print on Fabric, Beads, Threads, Satin and Mesh, Yarn, Organza, 110x85cm ©Charlene Komuntale, Courtesy of Afriart Gallery and the Artist. (Photo: Ekolu Emmanuel)
Charlene Komuntale, “Threads among Flames,” (detail) 2025. Digital Print on Fabric, Beads, Threads, Satin and Mesh, Yarn, Organza, 110x85cm ©Charlene Komuntale, Courtesy of Afriart Gallery and the Artist. (Photo: Ekolu Emmanuel)
Charlene Komuntale, “The Books,” (detail) 2025. Repuposed Books and Beads, 96x34x28cm, ©Charlene Komuntale. Courtesy of Afriart Gallery and the Artist. (Photo: James Wasswa)
Charlene Komuntale, “The Books,” (detail) 2025. Repuposed Books and Beads, 96x34x28cm, ©Charlene Komuntale. Courtesy of Afriart Gallery and the Artist. (Photo: James Wasswa)
Charlene Komuntale, “The Books,” (detail) 2025. Repuposed Books and Beads, 96x34x28cm, ©Charlene Komuntale. Courtesy of Afriart Gallery and the Artist. (Photo: James Wasswa)
Charlene Komuntale, “The Books,” (detail) 2025. Repuposed Books and Beads, 96x34x28cm, ©Charlene Komuntale. Courtesy of Afriart Gallery and the Artist. (Photo: James Wasswa)
Charlene Komuntale, “The Books,” 2025. Repuposed Books and Beads, 96x34x28cm, ©Charlene Komuntale. Courtesy of Afriart Gallery and the Artist. (Photo: James Wasswa)