Momentum of Light was an exhibiton that explored the interplay between natural sunlight, vernacular architecture and everyday life in Burkina Faso. The exhibition presented a series of images captured by Iwan Baan during his travels with Francis Kéré through Burkina Faso in March 2020, during which they visited communal compounds in Gando and Pouni, the main mosque in Bobo-Dioulasso and the decorated houses of Tiébélé.

Iwan Baan’s photographs capture the stark qualities of light in sub-Saharan Africa and how it passes through traditional Burkinabe building typologies, shaping daily routines and ways of life. The images collectively articulate a sensitive study of light, space, place and emphasize the complex and reciprocal relationships between people, architecture and environmental conditions.

Momentum of Light was originally commissioned by Zumtobel Group for a special 30th-anniversary edition of its Annual Report 2020/21; an exhibition of this work was first presented at Kunstmuseum Olten, Switzerland, in August 2021.