“Struggles and Dreams” is a collection of personal stories. In the pictures, Johnson Ocheja shows himself, members of his family and important friends. Each depiction is the result of memories of formative experiences, linked to hopes and dreams that are supposed to lead through life. And they are also linked to experiences that reality often requires effort and struggle, the ability to overcome resistance, to endure setbacks and defeats and not to lose courage and confidence in the process.

“As a child, I had many dreams. I believed I could be anything, do anything and become anything. I thought that growing up was just about getting bigger. Now I ask myself: at what point do we stop being children bursting with boundless faith? When do we become adults burdened with the weight of reality?” And then we have to ask: How do we face reality? Who and how can we be? How do we approach our lives so that we succeed?

The “Struggles and Dreams” exhibition provides stories about this. “Every motif in my pictures tells a story,” says Johnson Ocheja. “Life puts us to the test, confronts us with disappointments. But as long as our own strength is tangible, there is hope and dreams can become reality.”