The Kaddu Wasswa Archive, by photographer Andrea Stultiens, is a visual biography of Ugandan Kaddu Wasswa, who played an important role in his community as a teacher and social worker. What is exceptional about the 77-year-old Wasswa is that he has always documented his activities in writing and in photographs. The archive, started during the period when Uganda was seeking independence from Great Britain, presents a fascinating view of Uganda during its first fifty years of independence, which will be commemorated in 2012.

Andrea Stultiens met Kaddu Wasswa in 2008 through his grandson, photographer Arthur C. Kisitu. Together Stultiens and Kisitu set out to explore Wasswa’s archive. She took photographs of the documents, and added her and Kisitu’s own photos taken during their meetings.

The Kaddu Wasswa Archive preserves the history of a man and tells the story of a country.

 

Video courtesy of Katja Lenart

Andrea Stultiens
Andrea Stultiens (b. 1974) makes, collects, and writes about photographs. She has done several projects in Uganda, where she is trying to find alternative ways to deal with the country’s history using photographs from vernacular collections. Her books include Kerkdorp – Polderdorp, Low Land – High Hills and In Almost Every Picture #2 [with Erik Kessels] and Komm, mein Mädchen, in die Berge. She is now working on Reasons to Smile, on the transition of analog to digital photography. The Kaddu Wasswa Archive was nominated as one of the best Dutch photobooks of 2009–2010 by the Foto Kees Scherer Award and chosen as one of the best photobooks of 2010 by Photo-Eye. Her work is currently showing as part of the “Transitions Rochester” exhibit at the George Eastman House, and will also be on display at the National Museum of Rwanda and the Lagos Photo Festival later this year.

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