Nankumbinkalu from the Kuchu Embwa (Dog) Clan

Babirye’s wall-based sculpture is composed of burnt wood and bicycle inner tubes with copper. Babirye describes that with her process, ‘through the act of burning, nailing and assembling, I aim to address the realities of being gay in the context of Uganda and Africa in general.’[1] She uses discarded materials to refer to the Luganda term ‘abasiyazi’, meaning sugar cane husk, which is used as a derogatory term for LGBTQI+ people, being something that is thrown out.

The sculpture is mask like. Babirye began making masks in Uganda for practical reasons to cover her friends’ identities during Pride for their safety. She then began to make them as part of her artistic practice as a metaphor for how she and her friends had to disguise their true identities due to the nation’s homophobic laws. The term masking describes how people camouflage certain traits to fit in with others around them. It is used regarding mental health and neurodivergence and often takes place amongst queer and minority communities who need to assimilate into the majority culture.

Ugandan society is structured around 52 clans named after animals and plants. Babirye gives her works traditional clan names, bestowing upon them a community and identity as many queer people would have been ostracised from their families.

Babirye is now based in New York where she received asylum when she was forced to leave Uganda in 2015 for her activism due to the homophobic laws. In New York, she saw drag kings and queens living openly for the first time, which inspired her turn to colourful works on paper titled Queer Identity Cards, such as one in the Sainsbury Centre collection [50928].

Tania Moore, November 2025

[1] Leilah Babirye: We Have a History | Stephen Friedman Gallery [accessed 21 November 2025]