Martina Bacigalupo : Gulu Real Art Studio

27 Mar-26 Apr 2014

Overview

Martina Bacigalupo's latest series presents an edited selection of prints found discarded at the Gulu Real Art Studio in the city of Gulu, northern Uganda. Bacigalupo's collection represents a typological cross-section of Gulu's society today ⎯ nurses, soldiers, farmers, teachers, businessmen, nuns, students, mothers, and children ⎯ defined through poses, clothing, and objects. Vivid and diverse, the images extend the tradition of African vernacular studio portraiture but at the same time creating completely unconventional portraits. The photographic work is accompanied by a collection of audio interviews of the studio's customers conducted by Bacigalupo. Their stories, many deeply moving, describe the political, economic, and social conditions common to contemporary East Africa. The monograph Gulu Real Art Studio was published by Steidl in 2013 and will be available for purchase at the gallery.