Background information
"Locusts, called 'nsenene' in Uganda, are a delicacy and an important source of income there. Twice a year they migrate in masses immediately after the rainy season. Huge swarms flood the sky shortly before sunrise. Night after night, large parts of the population stay awake until dawn to catch locusts and sell them. The omnipresence of the locusts and their greenish glow, lost in the nocturnal haze and in the smoke of the beacons, immerse the whole country in an enraptured atmosphere, to which the bizarreness of the cunning hunt and homemade tools also contribute. Moments of hectic activity alternate with long periods of waiting to rest or pass the time. Their high protein content makes them a promising source of food for the future. For example, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) stated that edible insects on the menu of more people could reduce hunger and improve food security in the world. On the other hand, deforestation in recent years has led to a drastic decline in the number and biodiversity of migratory insects. In addition, climate change is making the rainy seasons in Africa less and less predictable; when it comes to setting traps, it all comes down to timing. The hunt for locusts plays out on a very fine line between the past and the future, tradition and modernization.
Content
In the form of immediate portraits and cinematographic sequences, Italian photographer Michele SIBILONI's atmospherically dense visual language tells us not only about the self-image of Ugandans, but also about future prospects on the planet as a whole." (© Edition Patrick Frey, 2021)