Stephan Wurth: Ikinga

In late 2013, photographer Stephan Wurth embarked on a whirlwindroad trip, winding his way across Burundi, a small landlocked nation in the heart of East Africa. Snapping images on a hidden iPhone during his journey, Wurth portrays everyday life in the impoverished country, from the bustling open-air markets of its capital, Bujumbura, to the plantations of sweet banana and coffee deep in the country's foothills. The photographs highlight the integral role the bicycle-or ikinga-plays in Burundi's culture. With a candid eye that recalls Walker Evans' surreptitious subway shots of New York in the 1930s, Wurth's photographs reveal a lively, resourceful and entrenched bicycle culture that is vital not only to Burundi's economy, but also to the daily survival of its countrymen. At times playful and intimate, Ikinga is a bold meditation upon the power of creativity and improvisation during times of great difficulty.