Self-taught documentary photographer and visual storyteller Lucas Oyugi is showing Who Gets to Create the Archive?, a photo slideshow that is a visual archive examining themes of community, memory, identity and everyday life in Kibera, where he was born and raised.
The slideshow was presented at the Contemporary Image Centre (CIC) Africa on August 29 in Westlands and is curated by CIC Africa founder Adam Ibrahim.
The title Who Gets to Create the Archive? depicts his belief that the person creating an archive controls how a community is remembered.
The slideshow will feature 15 coloured and black-and-white photographs selected from an initial pool of 40. Oyugi is working with Adam Ibrahim, founder and curator of CIC Africa, to determine the final selection and sequence of the images.
Having lived in Kibera for many years, Oyugi says that he has witnessed how the community has been represented through limited narratives, especially politics, elections and protests.
“I find it weird that where I come from, we are mainly associated with politics. That association with politics comes every five years during election time and during protests. It is unfair to judge a community based on that,” he says.
He says that the Gen Z protests influenced his approach to documenting the community.
“As a photographer, I thought that I needed to try to shape the narrative of my community, not in the best way, but in the most neutral way possible. There is a culture and rhythm of life in that community that needs to be represented,” he says.
Through the slideshow, Oyugi explores religion, the identities of local leaders, the boundaries between Kibera’s smaller villages and cultural practices such as marriage. His work also focuses on preserving everyday stories usually absent from traditional archives.
Among the photographs is Protest of Peace, which documents Legio Maria, a religious movement, undertaking an annual peace protest and walk through Kibera.
Following the Saba Saba protests last year, the group walked barefoot from its branch in Kibera across the community, with children taking part.
Another work, Tinga, features a mural of the late Raila Odinga, whose political and activist identity has a strong presence in Kibera.
“Raila has a deep identity in Kibera. People saw him as an activist. Anytime, anyplace you go with the name of Raila in the community, you never get it wrong,” he says.
Another piece, Alongside the Railway, documents another aspect of change in Kibera, focusing on a railway project being undertaken through a partnership involving AFCON and Kenya Railways on a space where children currently play football.
Oyugi describes his personal definition of Kibera as “Chocolate City”, a reference to the brown, rusting mabati structures that characterise parts of the settlement.
“Chocolate City is sweet and it is the daily life of people,” he says.
He says that growing up in Kibera has influenced his practice and relationship with the people he photographs. It gave him a vast social network and allowed him to see love, hope and resilience in the community.
He approaches photography by first observing and familiarising himself with his environment. When he encounters a moment worth photographing, he asks for consent. He returns the photographs to the people he photographs, and community members receive them free of charge.
“My community identifies me as a photographer. I always appear to them as invisible. They are not bothered by me walking around because they trust me with their story,” he says.
Oyugi started photography in 2022 but became more active in 2024 following the Gen Z protests. A photograph he took during the protests, showing him carrying an older woman, went viral.
He hopes Who Gets to Create the Archive? will encourage conversations about ownership and the importance of Africans documenting their own histories.
“I hope the conversation the event will start is the importance of owning our own things. It is time to start archiving as Africans in the most honest way possible and the best way possible,” he says.
He continues, “I am trying to preserve the stories of my community in the most dignified way possible. The culture of the community and any sort of social aspect within the community – that is what my work focuses on.”
Oyugi’s work has been exhibited at venues including the Nairobi National Museum and the Italian Cultural Institute and has received recognition from platforms including the East Africa Photography Award, the BOOOOOM Photo Award and Envision Kindness.