The project Covers for the World initiated by the Belgian artists Pierre Mertens, will be presented during the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Wednesday 3 December 2025 for the opening of SHARE, The Global Centre for Accessible Care by his organization Child-Help International at Moshi, Tanzania.
Part of the project is the decolonizing reinterpretation of Picasso’s Demoiselles d’Avignon. Pierre Mertens made an earlier version for the Biennial of East Africa with artists based in Europe: names. But for the version in Moshi Pierre thought it was important to fully hand over to local Tanzanian artists. One of these is Prince John Hugo with whom I had the interview below.
– Hi Prince, can you tell us about your background, how you started to work as an artist, and what it means for you?
My name is Prince Hugo. I grew up in Tanzania, surrounded by stories, colors, and history. Since childhood I’ve always been fascinated by the power of images, how a single drawing can carry emotion and truth. I started drawing seriously with a simple ballpoint pen! that’s how I found my voice. Over time, people connected with my work, and that encouraged me to dedicate my life fully to art. For me, art is a form of preservation and a way to tell real African stories that might otherwise be forgotten. Every piece I create carries memory, emotion, and a message for future generations. For me, art means more than beauty; it’s memory, identity, and truth. It’s how I communicate with the past and offer something to the future.
– On your instagram, I have seen a beautiful drawing in ballpoint of a Maasai woman and you’ve posted it with a poem that comments on the treatment by the “whiteys” or colonizers. Can you comment on that?
That piece reflects both pride and pain.. pride in Africa’s beauty and resilience, but also pain in how our story has been shaped and interrupted by colonization. The poem speaks to that tension: it recognizes that colonial powers once controlled much of Africa’s destiny, but also calls on us, Africans, to take responsibility for our own future now.
It’s not about blame anymore, it’s about awakening. I used the Maasai woman as a symbol of identity, strength, and continuity. Through her eyes, I wanted viewers to feel Africa’s silent endurance and the hope that, despite exploitation and historical wounds, our light will shine again.
– Another painting is that of a young girl, and in the accompanying text you observe how that “…beyond the technicalities of artistry, this painting became a labor of love—a testament to the unbreakable bond between a parent and their child.”
Can you say a bit more about this notion of connectedness and care that seems to chime with our project?
That painting was deeply personal to me. The girl is the child of my close friend, someone I consider my sister and I’ve witnessed the unconditional love she gives to her daughter. While painting them, I realized that beyond technique and realism, art can also carry emotion, compassion, and care.
It made me reflect on how powerful love is, especially the kind that nurtures without discrimination. I believe if we could extend that same tenderness to all children, regardless of their background or abilities, we could build a stronger and kinder future. So for me, that painting became more than an artwork; it became a quiet call for empathy.
– This connectedness doesn’t only exists with people, but clearly also with animals as you paint highly realistic portraits of them, giraffes, lions, panthers?
Yes, absolutely. Animals embody purity and truth in a way that humans often lose. When I paint them, I try to capture their soul, the silent communication in their eyes. I feel a deep connection with nature because it’s honest, raw, and balanced.
Through these portraits, I want to remind viewers that we share the same earth and the same spirit of life. Our survival, beauty, and peace are all connected. Respecting animals is another way of respecting ourselves.
– You tattoo as well?
Yes, tattooing is another form of storytelling for me but this time, on skin. I see it as a living art form that moves and breathes with the person who carries it. It allows me to connect directly with people, translating their emotions, memories, and identities into permanent symbols. In a way, it’s similar to painting only that the canvas has a heartbeat.
– How do you plan to work with your part of the Demoiselles?
For my part of the Demoiselles, I plan to bring that same sense of truth and connection between people, history, and identity. I want to explore how African stories and emotions can converse with this global project.
My approach will likely mix realism with symbolism.. capturing the human form in detail but allowing emotion and narrative to speak louder than technique. The goal is to show that even when our histories differ, our humanity remains the same beautiful, complex, and deeply connected.
For more, view the Instagram account of Prince John Hugo.
His work will be presented during the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Wednesday, 3 December 2025, for the opening of SHARE, The Global Center for Accessible Care by Child-Help International at Moshi, Tanzania.
Leave a comment