For the very first time, the complete Ebifananyi-series by Andrea Stultiens will be on show. From 27 October 2017 – 18 February 2018 the photo collections based on several Ugandan archives are presented at FOMU in Antwerp (BE).
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.
During the exhibition Ebifananyi 8 is also launched, the last book to complete the series.
Ebifananyi is the title of a series of eight publications by Andrea Stultiens and co-published by Paradox and History In Progress Uganda (HIPUganda). The noun Ebifananyi is derived from the verb Kufanana, and means to be similar to. It’s the Luganda word for photographs, but also for drawings and paintings, placing emphasis on their qualities as likenesses. Each book is centered around one Ugandan photo collection, exploring its cultural context. The series present the results of engagements with photo collections by the Andrea Stultiens, the owners of the collections and (mainly) Ugandan artists, leading to in compelling stories and beautifully designed and printed books.
