Absa Group has announced that Eric Joe Gayi, an Absa L’Atelier 2023 Ambassador, will open his solo exhibition *Breaking the Norm* on November 1, 2025, at The Summit Residences in Naguru, Kampala, in collaboration with Amasaka Gallery. The show features intricate ballpoint pen drawings exploring Afro hair as a symbol of identity, resistance, and cultural pride, using blue figures to represent conformity and black figures with honeycomb textures to symbolize authenticity and resilience against Eurocentric beauty standards.
This exhibition matters because it challenges deep-rooted biases against Black hair within colonial frameworks while amplifying African artistic voices through the Absa L’Atelier program, one of Africa’s most respected art development initiatives now in its 39th year. By addressing personal and societal themes of discrimination and self-expression, Gayi’s work contributes to broader conversations about beauty, belonging, and cultural authenticity, and encourages Ugandan artists to create globally relevant, socially resonant art.