A Space for Resistance and Renewal is an invitation to rest. My name is Birungi Ndwadde Kawooya, and I am a wellbeing researcher. A Space for Resistance and Renewal is a bark cloth installation inspired by motifs from shields from the Kingdom of Buganda, where my parents and my family are from. I created this piece as a way to practice taking care of myself and engaging in my culture’s practices of conserving nature, working with nature and practice a form of mindfulness. Bark cloth is made from the omutuba tree, which is harvested during the rainy season. And banana leaves are wrapped around the tree, and the tree regenerates its bark. So the tree continues to live for many, many seasons, decades, even. I hope by visiting A Space for Resistance and Renewal that you will breathe. Take a moment, to inhale and exhale and consider your relationship with yourself. Consider how you can support your friends, family, community and consider your relationship to nature, the wider ecology. But first and foremost, come back to yourself.

How can traditional practices inspire modern wellbeing? A Space for Resistance and Renewal with Birungi Kawooya

A Space for Resistance and Renewal is a trio of bark cloth structures that provide a gathering place for rest, repair and resistance. As a self-taught artist, Kawooya came to fibre artistry as a healing practice. Here, she can imagine being liberated from the interlocking forces of systemic racism, capitalism, sexism and ableism. The regenerative materials that were the artist chose to make this from are traditionally used in Ugandan art; olubugo (bark cloth), banana fibre, raffia and Brixton-grown bamboo. When harvesting bark cloth, artisans wrap the omutuba tree with banana leaf once the bark is removed, which allows the tree to repair and be harvested in future rainy seasons. The designs feature shield motifs from the Kingdom of Buganda, symbolising protection, and the earthenware pots which tether the structures are filled with plants known for their therapeutic properties.

You can see A Space for Resistance and Renewal part of Vital Signs: another world is possible at Science Gallery London until 17 May 2025.