Luc Gatwa

Luc Gatwa recently moved to Ostend, after having lived and worked for years in Kigali (Rwanda) and Stockholm (Sweden). The Rwandan-Swedish painter and photographer, who has a fondness for black-and-white pictures and works both in digital and analogue, also exhibited there extensively. What is so special about Gatwa’s practice is that he often translates his photographic work into paintings. To do so, he uses acrylic and oil paints and creates textures on the canvas with brushes and a palette knife.

works

For Luc Gatwa, photography is a means of looking at the world differently. His aim is to inspire others, just as he himself was once inspired. His work often uses African masks, patterns and colour combinations. Such is also the case with the series ISOLATION, which was created during one of the Covid lockdowns. The dark background represents the emptiness, fear and uncertainty he felt at the time, the African mask represents life – strong and powerful.