People have different views when it comes to breastfeeding. For this reason, Abdul Rwigema and his counterpart Leon Manzi, aka Studa Art, a self-taught visual artist, collaborated on an on-going exhibition dubbed ‘Black Bossom’ to shed more light on this.

The two visual artists tell Weekender that they named the exhibition ‘Black Bosom’ because they wanted to talk about African women and the decision they make to breastfeed or not, plus the consequences of either decision.

"Sometimes people tend to decide for women what to do with their bodies and this may result in depression. We’ve seen some women who get harassed when they do not breastfeed their kids due to different reasons.

Rwigema Abdul and Leon Manzi.

The saddest part is that nobody wants to know the reason behind their decision, which may even be better for both the mother and the child,” says Manzi.

‘Black Bosom’ will go on for consecutive weeks. Asked why the two decided to have the exhibition as a duo, they say that they had artistic chemistry because they share a lot in common. This made it easier when they did their art pieces separately and together, and they were able to launch the exhibition at Indiba Art Space, Kimihurura.

"Two heads are better than one. Studa and I are very good friends and I have been admiring his artwork and he has been admiring mine. We then agreed on doing a project that tackles some issues in the community and we ended up finding the same interests and so we gave it a go,” Rwigema says.

"We actually drafted this exhibition last year but due to the Covid-19 prevention measures, we couldn’t have it and so we scheduled it for this year,” he adds.

The exhibition is composed of 20 art pieces and each of the two artists has 10.

"It is amazing to see two visual artists coming together on a big project like this. We only see singers collaborating on a song but never have I seen two independent singers in Rwanda doing an album together. I can surely call what Rwigema and Manzi did a success and their pieces are so amazing and educative,” says Darcy Umukundwa, a guest at the exhibition.

Umukundwa adds that not only does ‘Black Bosom’ show the challenges women face regarding making decisions for their bodies, it also showcases how women should find their way to happiness without letting judgement or stigma from society ruin them.

The exhibition kicked off on June 17 and will end July 1.