Materiality of Kisumu :

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These photographs were taken while I was traveling through the port city of Kisumu, Kenya. Fishing and food-trade are a critical and endangered economy here along Lake Victoria, a water body connecting Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Today, unprecedented urban sprawl is generating coastal pollution that threatens both local habitats and a water-based international economy.

Sprawl has created density and a collage of industrial materials that clash with the lush environment around it. Materiality is a dominant theme in Kisumu. Visually, a walk on a most streets will leave you overwhelmed by movement and color. In this series of images I try to focus in on select moments that give an accurate portrait of both the place and the complex character it holds closely.

The Bucket Man

Sifting Grain

Paint Swatches and Shade

An old paint factory (above). The strokes of color are an advertisement for the work going on inside. Murals and hand-painted advertising showcase examples of services provided.

School Portrait

Playground

The Late Fisherman

Floating Hyacinth

Hyacinth Weave

A Creative Solution for a Changing Climate

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A hat woven from the fibers of an invasive water hyacinth plant (above). Coastal pollution from growing cities, warmer temperatures and shrinking water levels have caused a number of unique and invasive species to thrive. The water hyacinth can grow quickly along the surface of the water and prevent fishing boats from reaching their ports. Massive fields of them have been known to strand boats out on the water, even carry them away with strong winds. As a creative alternative, some fishing communities here are learning how to adapt and create a new economy in place of a threatened one.

The fibers from the hyacinth plant can be stripped down and used as a thread to make clothing, hats, baskets, and even be mixed to strengthen plaster and other building construction materials. Families that once wove fishing nets now weave an growing entourage of products that are popularly sold at nearby markets.

Sun-dried Fish

Battered Metal

All Quiet on Main Street

Planning Strategic Growth to Combat Urban Sprawl

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Next week, I'll share some of the urban planning proposals that I worked on for Kisumu and the neighborhood of Manyatta. For a sprawl type project, the scope of issues and topics to research can be very far reaching. (Below) You can see a regional map highlighting Kisumu's strategic positioning in the East African region. My research in this area begins with a big window and slowly narrows down into the details (the photographs you see here). More to come!

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