Zadde

Zadde by Yiga Joshua: Where Memory, Play and Sustainability Intertwine

Produced by Vodo Arts Society, Yiga Joshua’s Zadde was no ordinary exhibition – it was a journey through Uganda’s ecological memory, drawing over 2,000 visitors in February 2023 into its immersive world. The experience unfolded through four distinct yet interconnected realms, each revealing layers of childhood, sustainability and cultural continuity.

At the exhibition’s living heart stood the wilting banana plantation, its daily decay performing the very lessons Yiga sought to teach. As leaves browned and stems sagged, visitors witnessed nature’s cycles firsthand while artists harvested still-usable fibers – demonstrating how nothing in nature goes to waste. Children traced the plants’ transformation with curious fingers, learning that endings birth new beginnings.

The journey continued into the Cave of Dolls, where a number of Byayi banana fiber dolls pasted on colorful backdrops. This Instagram-perfect photobooth became more than a selfie spot – each doll, none like the other represented generations of Ugandan children who grew up cradling these sustainable toys. Visitors lingered here, some recognizing doll designs from their own childhoods, others marveling at how simple organic materials could spark such joy.

Yiga’s paintings provided a contemplative balance to the exhibition’s immersive installations. Their textured surfaces echoed the banana fiber works, creating visual continuity across different media. The figurative works captured universal human experiences – their familiar compositions inviting viewers to project their own memories and interpretations. These quiet moments on canvas became conversation starters, with visitors often recognizing fragments of their own lives in Yiga’s brushstrokes. The paintings’ ability to spark dialogue between strangers testified to their emotional resonance, revealing Yiga’s skill at distilling shared human experiences into visual form.

The culmination came in the hatched installation, where a video projection revealed the sacred process of doll-making. Here, Yiga himself appeared on screen, teaching a curious generation the craft – passing on knowledge just as his ancestors had to him. The circularity was poignant: as visitors watched children learning to create Byayi in the film, they stood surrounded by the physical results of that same knowledge being preserved.

“What seems like child’s play is actually environmental wisdom,” explained curator Carol Kagezi. “These dolls teach resourcefulness – how to create joy from what the earth provides, without waste.” This philosophy permeated every aspect of Zadde, from the plantation’s purposeful decay to the dolls’ afterlife as compost after the exhibition.

By the closing night, Zadde had become more than an art show – it was a living classroom. Parents left discussing how to revive sustainable play traditions, artists rethought their material choices, and children clutched their first banana fiber dolls. As the last visitors departed, the message was clear: true sustainability isn’t just about protecting resources, but preserving the knowledge to use them wisely.Production Credits
Artist: Yiga Joshua
Produced by: Vodo Arts Society
Supported by: FG-Foundation
Curators: Trevor Mukholi, Carol Kagezi
Documentation: Jacob Ocen

February 11 @ 14:25 — February 20 @ 16:10
14:25

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