Last Sunday she left for Uganda for the ninth time. “I was actually never a traveling photographer. It was my opinion that as a photographer you should only be dealing with your own world, because it is the only world you know.” Through a study friend who settled in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, Stultiens was tempted nevertheless to go and photograph there as well. “When I was visiting her, I was confronted with my own prejudices, but also with those about white people of the people over there. I thought: that is an item I want to use in my work.” In doing so she was aware of the enormous differences and of her status as an outsider to the Ugandan culture. “You cannot show ‘everyday life’. The moment when you appear somewhere as a photographer, you are already interfering. So it is about our view of things, as outsiders.”

In Kabale, a small place down in the southwest of Uganda, she found a photo studio in 2007 where people could have their photos taken against a backdrop full of tulips: the Keukenhof. When early in 2009 she heard about the call for the ‘Gimme Shelter’ contest she traveled especially to Uganda to make a series about such studios. In the capital the backgrounds are often painted natural landscapes with lots of greenery, animals and water. In the countryside, where people have nature at their doorstep, exotic backgrounds like the Keukenhof, an English-looking castle garden or a palm beach are customary. “The spaces are about ideal places. While we can afford the luxury of going on holiday, people over there cannot. So the photos form a kind of escape from their everyday reality.”

Illusion
Although this is the ninth time she has been in the country, she is still very careful in describing ‘the country’ and ‘the people’. “When you have talked to a few people, you cannot have the illusion that you know about this already.” At the moment she has joined up with a Ugandan photographer to make a portrait of his grandfather. By means of projects like this she tries to add pieces to her impression of Uganda every time again. She is not planning to go and live there some time. “Still, I have not finished with it either for the time being.” (SK)