Objects

According to Joakim Blockstrom in his article for the Saturday Guardian (17.8.13) 'The Things we Inherit', he says, "The past has value ...because it teaches us who we are.  But this project is not only about looking back. It's also about creating a catalogue of things that might be lost".

The research project I am about to embark on in the Ruwenzori area of Uganda builds on my previous anthropological interests into the rites of passage and the objects associated with them. (Please see the 'Research' Section at www.kate-parsons.co.uk).  I shall be investigating the objects and customs of the Bakonjo linked with death and/or other important markers of life.  This will start at the Ruwenzori Sculpture Foundation (RSF) in Kyemihoko Village, then kilometres north of Kasese with founder David Bwambale (Bakonjo), as assistant researcher.

 

I would like to thank the following organisations for making this project possible through the 'Artist in Residency' programme at the RSF and others who have also kindly provided funding and support:
Pangolin Editions, Ruwenzori Sculpture Foundation, British Institute in Eastern Africa, British Council and the Bath Commonwealth Society.