Viviane Sassen studied fashion at the School of Arts in Arnhem, Holland, for two years before turning to photography. Today, Sassen travels extensively in Africa for her personal work and is currently working on a new series entitled Moshi, for which she photographed people from the town of the same name at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro during a period of several months while living there.
To her, light Trip in Tanzania is a new form of exploration. It has to do with the magical side of Africa and the belief in animism—that everything has its own soul. It’s about ancient rituals and dreams and giving meaning to thoughts, which are ungraspable. The long shutter speed, gives the images this magical effect. According to her, “my favorite light is harsh sunlight, but when it‘s dark in Africa, it‘s really dark. Any light is artificial, even fire. I was intrigued by that during my trip in Tanzania—we had a lot of power cuts”.
