Or: more than just one city. These are random picks from places and things I’ve seen recently. The first five photos are details from my recent exhibition African Urban Spaces.
Tag: photography
Amoon na fi saxaar – expo
Il était une fois… le train
Photos par Cheikh Beye – Ndar Ndar Music & Café – Ile Nord Saint-Louis
Collaboration avec la Galerie Éthiopiques 18 février – 31 mars
Le Thiessois Cheikh BEYE (décédé en 2015) commençait sa carrière comme photographe à Dakar en 1950. À partir de 1954 il était propriétaire et gérant de l’entreprise Euréka Photo à Thiès. Son oeuvre photographique consiste, entre autres, des portraits d’atelier mais également des photos de presse de la sphère politique, des événements sportifs etc.
Naturellement, dans la ville du rail, les cheminots et les activités autour de la gare figurent dans une grande partie de ses photos.
The Thiessois Cheikh BEYE (died in 2015) began his career as a photographer in Dakar in 1950. From 1954 he was owner and manager of the company Euréka Photo in Thiès. His photographic work includes, among other things, workshop portraits but also press photos from the political sphere, sporting events, etc. Naturally, in the city of rail, railway workers and activities around the station appear in a large part of his photos.
Going deep also in 2020
Those of you who are going to be in Dakar and attend the Dak’Art Biennale, please mark your calendars for my exhibition Deep in Ngor. The exhibition takes place in Le Spot de Ngor, a very cozy venue where you can also have coffee and a healthy lunch, or find the latest gear for swimming and surfing. It is located in Ngor-Plage, a one-minute-walk from the beach so why not have a half-day off from the traffic jams of the city and dip yourself in the ocean as well?
Deep. Underwater photography, mixed media – Dak’Art Biennale OFF. May 28 – June 14, 2020.
Doun Baba Dieye
Time to make new plans for a brand new year… As an incurable planner, I also need to remind myself of where I am, not just where I am going and here is that photo. Plastic trash has not been cut out of the photo – as there was none – nor have I used any filter or photo-shopped the image in any way. Looking at the photo one might consider this place as some sort of a paradise. But whose paradise are we talking about?
Two days ago we had a boat ride in Doun Baba Dieye, the “sunken village.” Although part of this village is now under water due to a man made mistake of connecting the Senegal river to the Atlantic ocean, the population of the village has been able to turn newly formed and salty land arable with the help of traditional knowledge and can now feed over seventy families. That’s just thrilling!
Doun Baba Dieye – a treetop in the village
Doun Baba Dieye – the plant that removes salt from sea water
Doun Baba Dieye – the plant that removes salt from sea water
Doun Baba Dieye – the plant that removes salt from sea water
Doun Baba Dieye – fishermen
Wishing you all a very inspiring New Year 2020!
Afropolis expo: a teaser
A first milestone in my Afropolis photo project: a work-in-progress exhibition. I framed twelve prints last night to show what I am working on. This small show is combining some sleek-looking photos and rough handmade and “unfinished” frames made out of old windows that are very easy to come by here in Saint-Louis. Doing this show has helped me a lot in both choosing the photos that I want to include in later exhibitions and defining the theme or themes that this project will bring forward. These twelve photos were taken in Addis Ababa and once I will have more material from the other cities – Dakar, Nouakchott and Bamako – these themes will certainly develop more in the process. For now I can say that visually I hope to capture some of the contrasts of neighborhoods that are human in size and “organic” against the modern construction boom with glass and steel buildings reaching up in the skies, and human activity characterized by informality that takes place in between these two dynamics. More of that later with more photos!
Ndar Ndar Music & Café, Saint-Louis: A work-in-progress photo exhibition “Afropolis 2020” with a focus on African urban space: Addis Ababa. The final exhibition material will be made in platinum prints in summer 2020.
