In and around Kampala City, Uganda
Exhibition preview
AN EXHIBITION of photographs by Tessa Lwanga, In and around Kampala City, Uganda, will be on display at the Red Gate Gallery from May 29 to June 4, 2009.
Tessa Lwanga’s debut exhibition is a photographic depiction on Ugandan life around Lake Victoria, Kampala City and the village of Mukono.
Presented in a reportage style, Tessa introduces the viewers to a series of poignant photographs which spirits them away from London into the heartbeat of Uganda’s capital and surrounding areas. Lwanga’s style captures the colourful essence, mood and vibe of Uganda’s capital offering you an opportunity to be immersed into Kampala City.
Although Kenya is Lwanga’s place of birth, she remains proud of her Ugandan heritage and through this exhibition, she shows the world the beauty and diversity of people and places in Uganda.
She always had a passion and flair for photography of people and sites from around the world. Leafing through copies of National Geographic as a child and pouring over the works of the various photographers, she was struck by the elements of originality in the subjects and loved the window it provided to the world.
These photographs provided a way for Lwanga to travel in her mind and later motivated her to capture and entice viewers with her own work, giving her audience a chance to take mental journeys to faraway places. Striking works like those of Steve McCurry, famous for his picture of a young Afghan refugee, invariably stuck with her and inspired her to capture similar moments of her own.
Ever since she was offered a small manual camera at the age of four, Tessa Lwanga and her camera have been almost inseparable. At the age of 22, she bought her first digital SLR, and experimented with different techniques to develop her own style of photography.
She likes to think of herself as a trailblazer, a person brought into this world to tell a different, more positive story of Uganda; a country so often overshadowed by it’s tragic past.
Times: Friday, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 2.30pm to 6.30pm. Last day of exhibition (June 4) from 11am to 5pm.
Red Gate Gallery, 209a Coldharbour Lane, London, SW9 8RU
Tel: 020 73260993