Viewing Stacey Gillian Abe

Scoot over to Unit London to see the gallery’s first solo exhibition of work by Ugandan artist Stacey Gillian Abe. Abe’s new body of work includes vibrant paintings with delicately hand stitched pattens that explore themes of shared memory, time and emotion. In these works, she lays particular emphasis on the ways in which her memories and family traditions — including embroidery, a craft she is learning from her mother — have been passed down through her family lineage.

You’ll see paintings featuring black figures, floral motifs and shrubs, including the jute plant which here represents the Ayivu clan in Arua in the West Nile Region of the artist’s native Uganda. As captivating as her subjects though are her striking colours, notably her use of indigo.

For Abe, indigo allows the black body to been seen in a different light. ‘Indigo for a skin tone in my work signifies a tribe, a breed of black, a people that are not limited to social, economic, cultural, political or historical constraints.’ This gallery debut is most definitely one for your winter to-do list.