Sculptures of former child soldiers on display in London
Sculptures of former child soldiers on display in London
Image source, Steve Russell StudiosBy Penny DaleJournalist
The joy that former child soldier Peter Oloya finds in sculpture was first sparked as he was looking for clay with his grandmother in northern Uganda - an area that has become infamous for terrifying raids carried out by the rebel group the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).
< p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10">"My grandmother showed me where the clay is, what type of clay to use and why," says the Ugandan artist who grew up in the village of Lemo Bongolewic, in Kitgum district.
It was the early 1980s. before much of the population was herded into camps to save her from attacks and kidnappings.
Oloya and her late grandmother, Helen Atoo Ocula, often followed the cows to pasture. as they headed straight for some damp places under the groves of some tall trees.
There was a particular clay called "punu" in the Acholi language of Oloya. It was loved by cows for its minerals - and by Oloya's grandmother because it was perfect for the pots she made for cooking and storing water.
A young Oloya was fascinated and inspired by the way his grandmother's hands transformed clay into beautiful pots.
He was particularly fascinated by the drawings she made on the pots using small tools. “It wasn't until much later, when I turned to art as a profession, that I realized how artistic it was,” he says.
Image source, Steve Russell StudiosBy Penny DaleJournalist
The joy that former child soldier Peter Oloya finds in sculpture was first sparked as he was looking for clay with his grandmother in northern Uganda - an area that has become infamous for terrifying raids carried out by the rebel group the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).
< p class="ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10">"My grandmother showed me where the clay is, what type of clay to use and why," says the Ugandan artist who grew up in the village of Lemo Bongolewic, in Kitgum district.
It was the early 1980s. before much of the population was herded into camps to save her from attacks and kidnappings.
Oloya and her late grandmother, Helen Atoo Ocula, often followed the cows to pasture. as they headed straight for some damp places under the groves of some tall trees.
There was a particular clay called "punu" in the Acholi language of Oloya. It was loved by cows for its minerals - and by Oloya's grandmother because it was perfect for the pots she made for cooking and storing water.
A young Oloya was fascinated and inspired by the way his grandmother's hands transformed clay into beautiful pots.
He was particularly fascinated by the drawings she made on the pots using small tools. “It wasn't until much later, when I turned to art as a profession, that I realized how artistic it was,” he says.
Image source, Steve Russell Studios
