The Gulu Project / GLORIA

A tale on the aftermath of civil war in Northern Uganda and some of its protagonists.

Gloria is a young sex worker in Gulu. In 1996 the LRA abducted 139 female students from the prestigious St. Mary’s College in Aboke, an event that drew international attention to the northern conflict. Gloria was one of the students.

When she eventually escaped from captivity she returned home to find that her mother had died and the sponsor who had been paying for her education had disappeared. Family members had taken over her land and Gloria was left alone with an unfinished education.

Both Gloria and Brenda, her best friend and a fellow abductee from the Aboke school dream of finishing their education and starting a small business, perhaps selling clothes. The sex work is tough, with clients turning violent at times or refusing to pay.

Worries about this risky lifestyle plague them, especially fears of HIV and other diseases, and the memories of the past refuse to leave them.

The project was funded by VG Bild-Kunst and exhibited in a solo show at Makerere Art Gallery in Kampala, Uganda in April 2014. Curation: Marc Prüst, Katrin Peters-Klaphake, Anna Kucma