The Beginning of War
My Life Before: A Story of War and Refuge Lost Boy James Makuac Finds Peace, Comfort, and Art in Nashville by Joe Pagetta
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here is always movement in James Makuac’s paintings. Even in his Nashville skylines, which are often inspired by the view he has from his downtown loft, he can’t help putting a plane above the buildings. The 38-year-old knows plenty about moving. As one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, Makuac was one of 36,000 young boys driven from their families and villages in South Sudan in 1987 as a result of civil war. He traveled thousands of miles over the next years, from one refugee camp to another, often going months with very little to eat, before settling in Kakuma in Kenya and eventually being approved for emigration to the United States and Nashville in 2001.
“I have a story to tell about people like me,” says Makuac in his apartment studio, which includes a copy of the new South Sudan flag taped proudly to the wall. “[I draw the planes because] I want to tell people that it was scary the first time I flew, from the camp to Kenya to Europe and to here, and then when I went back the 98 | March 2014 NashvilleArts.com