Africa Montage

Prostitute

Dealing with Hunger

My motivation was simple. As I experienced West Africa and broadened my perspective of the social, economic and cultural landscape there, it became evident that the issues facing them are far from the singularly identifiable problems that some people tend to attribute. With traumatic problems, such as AIDS, famine, and political upheaval, assistance groups from all over the world tend to come in and "help." While this is a noble and worthy effort, the results of their work have dubious long-term implications, some of which are explained individually throughout the exhibit. The expressions on the faces of the people I met and photographed exemplify the range of emotions that correspond to specific instances of their interactions with outsiders.

Friends Hanging Out

But, faces alone don't tell the whole story. I chose to manipulate the images the way I did to symbolize the effects outside influences have had on the individuals who live there. In each photograph, the person is "broken apart" in one way or another - some with a positive aesthetic, others with a negative one. For those who've benefited from outside help, I chose rounder, softer edges, like rising bubbles. While those who've suffered directly or indirectly from "assistance" programs, I chose dangerously sharp edges. In the images where the pieces are square, the effects of outside influences are as yet unclear. In all its forms, many of the "fragments" overlap, partially projecting the same segment of the image as another part. I want this effect to resemble a broken mirror, which symbolizes the reflective insight necessary to understand West Africa.

Desert Boy

Lastly, despite the shattered nature of these images, I wanted to be sure the whole picture was still visible and comprehensible, acknowledging the broader notion that the West Africans' resiliency has enabled them to maintain their lifestyle and culture in many ways, despite the presence of outsiders' interventions. Is there hope for West Africa? I don't know, and I didn't want to imply or suggest it one way or another.

Timbuktu

Why Outside Influences?
Most people see West Africa as a distant and foreign land, rife with poverty, illiteracy, AIDS and other diseases, and a collapsing governmental infrastructure. Some feel that it is a wild land that can never be tamed, while others feel it can be salvaged and built up into a modern civilization.

Nite Dance

No matter what your views, just about every country has a direct or indirect presence there, through humanitarian organizations, religious groups, or other governmental bodies, helping to change and shape the future of the people there. How that's accomplished and who decides that requires the support of those who aren't there. Thus, most people see West Africa through the editorial lenses of others who pontificate on "what it's like there, why it's like that, and what we should do about it."

Understandably, my expectations were set by a variety of influences: TV commercials soliciting aid to poor and starving African children, news reports of rebel groups seizing power from ruthless dictators, and of course, anecdotal accounts of individuals' experiences. All of these sources seems to reflect (and fuel) the frenzy of going there (or doing something) to "help them." It reminds me of the following quote:

"The problem with this country is that everyone that knows how to run it is too busy driving cabs and working as bar tenders."—Harry S. Truman

In Trance

What I Experienced
To my surprise, I found that my experiences differed considerably from the expectations that'd been set for me. I witnessed things and events that clearly showed evidence of the outside world trying in vain to "help", but what I actually found was a quiet sense of status quo about who

Djenne Mosque

these people were, how they viewed themselves, and how they chose to live their lives. They were virtually shrugging their shoulders in oblivious defiance against the outsiders interventions, just as they seem perfectly comfortable in the intense and unrelenting heat of the afternoon sun. Like the tourist that tries to avoid the daily 110F temperatures by sitting in the shade, wearing the Coolmax fabrics, and sitting inches away from their battery-powered facial fans—all to no avail—the world tries in vain to change West Africa. Like the heat, where one has no choice but to accept it and learn to live with it, so too does it seem futile to effect change in a region that does not want to be changed. But, like the tourist, the outside world tries to change it anyway.

Noon Prayer

The Dilemma
West African people are, like all of us, subject to the influences of their environment, good or bad, whether they want it or not. Africa is perceived to be especially vulnerable because they don't seem to have the resources to defend themselves, to compete in a global economy, to grow as a self-sustaining region, and sometimes, simply to survive. Thus, people on the outside want to "help." Some see economic opportunity, while others have altruistic intentions. But, what does it mean to "help"? To make them more like their benefactors? To impose

Polio Victim

values and lifestyles from those with different philosophies and values? To be more "profitable?" More civilized? While these objectives are reasonable in the abstract, how do we resolve the specifics? Who determines which "civilization" to model them after? Which outside cultures' morals are appropriate for them? Which version of "better" are we striving for?

The Family Unit

The Net Result
The culture of the region is based on tribal traditions, farming, and simple lifestyles. Accordingly, they do not suffer from many of the things in life that cause unhappiness in our culture. On the other hand, there are pitfalls associated with not having features that we in the West take for granted, like medicine and television. Some look upon the West African's way of life with envy, while others feel they are in desparate need of aid. However one chooses to judge them or attempt to effect change, it seems the same principle applies in Africa as does in physics:

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

All the efforts from the outside has helped some people's lives to improve, while others' lives have shattered. In my opinion, the net result has been a zero-sum game; the picture remains fundamentally the same, even though superficial changes have taken place.

Learning to Read and Write

Desert Sheik

Burkina Faso Chief

Food For thought

Thinking about the Future

That's not to say that change cannot happen or will not happen, but superficial intervention is an ineffective way to effect change. Change must come from within.

First and foremost, there needs to be a swell of philosophical and intellectual thought. Just as Western culture evolved from the unification of peoples, ideas and philosophies, ranging from Socrates, Plato and other thinkers from many nations and cultures throughout our history, so too must the African culture have a fundamental coalition of thought and ideas for it to evolve. It's not to say that this should happen, but that any kind of change won't happen without this. This leads to unification of people, development of infrastructure, and evolution of culture. Nothing else can possibly do that work.

Scarification:
Culture and Beauty

Motivations For These Images
This leads to the meaning and purpose of this particular series of images. While the picture of the West African resident remains fundamentally intact, there is still evidence of disruption. While the effects of outside intervention may have minimal long term effects, the immediate effects on the individuals who live there today are apparent. The meaning of the images with their parts being pulled apart or broken, reflects the same kind of fragmentation people experience as a result of the outside influences. This can take many forms, some positive, others negative. Some structured and ordered, others random and hectic. Some aesthetically pleasing, while others a disarray of dangerously sharp edges that depict their new lifestyles in a modern world that doesn't seem to fit in.

Click to recommend this page: