Individual Project

In a large exihibition at FOMU Andrea Stultiens exhibits all the photography collections and visual material upon which the eight publications entitled ‘Ebifananyi’ are based. The publications form the core of her PhD.

The noun Ebifananyi is derived from the verb Kufanana, which means “to resemble”. Ebifananyi is the Luganda word for drawings, paintings and photographs.

In 2011, Andrea Stultiens (NL) and Rumanzi Canon (UG) founded theHistory in Progress Uganda platform. Under this name, they document historical Ugandan photography collections in their current state.

Stultiens’ role alternates between documentalist and artist and curator. Both personal records and the work of Ugandan photographers, Western colonists and missionaries of the past are being amassed. Having chosen a multi-vocal approach, she invites contemporary artists to help activate the visual material. The results so far are presented in eight intimate publications entitled Ebifananyi and have been shown in numerous small exhibitions in Uganda and Northern Europe.

The FOMU presentation brings together for the first time all the photography collections upon which the publications are based. They demonstrate the wide variety of narrative potential for historical footage. The exhibition also provides insight into responses to the collections in Uganda itself. Stultiens thus aims to show how photographic images in this East African country are being used and questions the stereotypical imagery that is associated with Africa.

This exhibition was organised in partnership with Paradox.

Curators: Andrea Stultiens, Joachim Naudts (FOMU, BE) and Bas Vroege (Paradox, NL)