The past two years photographer Anaïs López and writer Eva Smallegange worked on this project and eventually succeeded in making a new book about Burundi: a book with a positive outlook, containing personal stories of Koky, their guide and the main narrator. He tells about his childhood and introduces ten of his friends from different strata of society such as the manioc miller from whom he buys his flour, the princess who was once engaged to his brother, the president, and his cousin the cow herder. They share their view on what you need to survive in this intriguing country, five years after the ending of the civil war that raged for years: to get things done you need the right connections.
The exhibition shows their journey in an ingenious way. Photos of different size and thickness, colored tape that connects the different images and stories and audio fragments immerse the viewer in the world of their guide, Koky, and the viewer discovers modern day Burundi through his eyes.
Artist Bios
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Anaïs López
Anaïs López is a documentary photographer, based in Amsterdam. She graduated from the Royal Art Academy in The Hague in 2006 and did a two year Masters (2008-2010) at Sint Joost Academy in Breda about narrative structures and documentary strategies. Besides working for magazines, she makes photo documentaries about things that matter to her.
In her work, she investigates how people live in the city, fascinated by how people try to find (or make) a place in an urban society. The main question she asks herself in her work is whether people make the city or the city makes the people.
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Eva Smallegange
Eva Smallegange (1981) is a PhD-candidate and a pedagogue. She lived and worked in Burundi in 2006-2007. This country full of contrast and its inhabitants grabbed her and never let her go. Eva returns regularly to Burundi for matters of work, but especially to visit what has become her second home.
Organizations
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United Photo Industries (UPI)
United Photo Industries (UPI) is a New York based nonprofit organization that works to promote a wider understanding of, and increased access to, the art of photography.
Since its founding in 2011, UPI has rapidly solidified its position in the public art landscape by continuing to showcase thought-provoking, challenging, and exceptional photography from across the globe. In its first seven years, UPI has presented the work of more than 2,500 visual artists in gallery exhibitions and public art installations worldwide.
Only in Burundi
Featuring: Anaïs López Eva Smallegange
Curated by: Marga Rotteveel Michl Sommer
Locations
View Location Details Brooklyn Bridge Park – Pier 5 UplandsBrooklyn,
NY 11201
Location open 24 hours
