About Leilah Babirye

In 2015, Leila Babirye fled Uganda to New York. She is a lesbian, which is not allowed in her country. People like Babirye are silenced, disinherited, and ostracised by their families. This reality is the driving force behind her visual work. In 2018, Babirye was granted asylum in the US.

For her work, she sticks to an African context. She is greatly inspired by the fashion and culture of the LGBTQ+ communities, but especially by old African art and masks. Because people like her are called ebisiyaga in her own language, a name that means ‘waste’, she likes to use street finds, rubbish from the dump, and leftovers from bicycle shops. In her sculptures, the shiny aluminum, iron, and steel transform into jewelry, headdresses, and accessories. In this way, she turns the negative into strength and beauty. All her figures have a queer identity. By giving them Ugandan names, they reintegrate as exiles into their old tribe and family ties. Babirye is what she is and lets people be who they are.