Martin Kharumwa

Self-taught Ugandan photographer, Martin Kharumwa is based between Kigali and Kampala. When he isn’t working on editorial and fashion shoots, he “makes” photographs, a practice that he says brings the ideas in his head to life.

Martin‘s contribution to KLA ART 21 is a few pages from his project “The Book of Owaz”, borrowing from a medieval devotional that was filled with creative illustrations of spiritual and seasonal guidelines of that time. These chapters cover the chaos of the time we live in with a focus on the deliberate exclusion of our population in the technological and social advancements of our time. He is interested in the theories around the next evolution of the homosapien that originated from East Africa, and what roles we are invited to play in the next chapter of the species.

In 2019, Martin Kharumwa was in residence at 32° East as part of the Pictures of Ageing project, done in partnership with the University of Cambridge, Infectious Diseases Institute and the Margaret Trowell School of Industrial Fine Art. Kharumwa used this opportunity to lend his craft to tell the stories of the elders in our society. He, alongside the researchers, took several visits to Luweero where they would meet with the elders and community members. As a result, Kharumwa was able to take portraits of the group to capture the intricacies and beauty of their ageing faces.