"ROTHKO" is a portrait of Mark Rothko. MAKANO deeply connects with Rothko's life and work on a personal level. For MAKANO, Rothko’s art and story became a significant source of solace and understanding during one of his darkest times. At the age of 18, after losing both parents in the Congo conflict and being displaced to a refugee camp in Uganda, MAKANO struggled with grief and isolation. In his emotional despair, he contemplated suicide. A few years later, when he discovered Rothko’s paintings and learned about Rothko’s struggles with depression and the anguish that led to his tragic end, MAKANO felt a deep, unspoken connection. Rothko’s work seemed to echo MAKANO’s internal struggles, and in that moment, MAKANO felt truly seen—understood by an artist whose work spoke to the same pain he had endured. Incorporating Rothko into his own work, MAKANO created ROTHKO as a way of honoring the artist who had unknowingly helped him through his emotional turmoil

MAKANO from Nakivale

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MAKANO channels tumultuous thought processes into superimposed pieces of abstract poetry that sometimes contract into the form of a manic one-eyed alter-ego, grinning his name “MAKANO.” After losing both his parents to the political unrest and armed conflicts in Congo, art became his vehicle to process trauma and find a form of expression for the unspeakable. Carried by an almost frenetic energy, his paintings don’t stop at the confined space of the canvas but sprawl onto any conceivable surface in the artist’s proximity.In June 2024, MAKANO had a solo exhibition titled ""I AM,"" which was a celebration of rebirth and self-discovery. It was a vibrant declaration of existence, an assertion of self in a world fraught with turmoil, declaring, ""I'm MAKANO. I am here. I am part of this dialogue. I've got opinions. I am not always right. I am not always on time. My thoughts are unapologetic; I don't always say things in the so-called 'proper way,' but my intentions are always pure."" The exhibition was a celebration of the human journey toward healing, empowerment, and self-realization.