Dynamic Africa
Formerly, "This is Africa/fyeahAfrica".
(Profile Photo by Mama Casset)
DISCLAIMER:
I do not endorse any of the products or opinions shared on this site, nor do I claim any of the work posted here to be my own - except where stated. All posts originally made by me are credited. If no credit is given then the work is either my own/written by me or reblogged from another source.
A LITTLE ABOUT ME:
Student, 24
Based in Cape Town, South Africa
From Lagos, Nigeria
Want to advertise through us? Send an email to dynamicafricablog@gmail.com
(As an unemployed media student, all donations go into ensuring my survival in this cruel world and future projects I hope to embark on).
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(since Oct. 21th 2012)
A few of my favourite images from Congolese photographer Baudouin Mouanda series on the immaculately dressed members of Sape (Société des ambianceurs et des personnes élégantes) in Congo.
As a child, Award-winning South African photographer Neo Ntsoma was only exposed to negative images of black people and as a result, Ntsoma dreamed of taking more positive and holistic images of black people and black life, something the Apartheid regime barred by maintaining a firm grip over the country’s media.
Transitioning from a systematically racially oppressive country to a nation with new possibilities for change, Ntsoma retraces the 20-something year journey of some of her closest friends, colleagues and peers as a way of celebrating the progress of black South Africans in popular culture.
One man is presenting a different view of Somalia, through Instagram.
Abdi Latif Dahir (@abdi_latif), a journalist based in Mogadishu, has spent the last year snapping pictures, more frequently on his iPhone than his professional camera.
His striking images provide alternative visual narratives of a country which has undergone twenty years of civil conflict.
(via AJE)
“Three-hundred years of white supremacy in South Africa has placed us in bondage, stripped us of our dignity, robbed us of our self-esteem and surrounded us with hate.” - Ernest Cole
Images of every day life for black people in South Africa under Apartheid, taken by South African photographer Ernest Cole.
Ernest Cole was born in South Africa’s capital city Pretoria in 1940. When Cole was 28, he applied for a job at Drum magazine and soon became the assistant of Jurgen Schadeberg, Drum’s chief photographer.
Cole had begin given a camera earlier in his life by a Roman Catholic priest and decided to receive some formal experience by enrolling in a correspondence course with the New York Institute of Photography in the 1960s. This encouraged him to begin to document the realities of Apartheid. In the early 1960s, after leaving Drum to work for Bantu World newspaper (now The Sowetan), Cole began to freelance for his former employer Drum as well as Rand Daily Mail and the Sunday Express, making him South Africa’s first freelance photographer.
With an urge to leave South Africa for New York in the mid-60s, Cole did something unheard - he somehow managed to get the South African Racial Classification Board to re-classify him from Black to Coloured. This enabled him to leave the country in 1966 taking his photographs with him. After showing his photographs to Magnum Photos, Cole published the book House of Bondage which was banned in South Africa.
Cole later moved to Sweden and in 1990 he passed away from cancer whilst living in New York.
Al Jazeera’s series follows Kenyan fashion photographer Barbara Minishi as she documents the campaign of presidential candidate Martha Karua for her project on Kenyan women. The project’s main objective is to represent a diverse group of women all wearing the same red dress as a symbol of unity and national identity.
Minishi also talks about the particular obstacles she’s come against about being a woman photographer, and more specifically a black woman photographer.
Images from Mozambican photographer Mario Macilau’s series ‘The Zionists’ that ‘documents the traditional religious rituals of Mozambique’.
As a photographer, I believe in the power of images and I’ve been exploring the relationship that exists between the environment, human beings, and time. Photography has connected me to incredible moments and experiences and all the places have taught me something valuable so I try to keep an open mind.
The intricacies of braided hairstyles captured by Malian photographer Youssouf Sogodogo.
Born in 1976, Malian photographer Penda Diakité graduated from Promo-femme: Center for Audio Visual Education for Young Women in 1999 and after several internships and apprenticeships, she opened her own photography studio in 2002 called ‘Afrique Vision’.
Penda Diakité is one of the few women photographers is in Bamako, Mali, and she specializes in portrait photography as well as special events imagery.
Her studio photography, as seen above, carries the standard aesthetic format so often seen in studio portraiture in Africa, of individuals positioned in front of two-dimensional scenery.
(source)
DYNAMIC AFRICANS: Ghanaian photographer Yaa Annobil
Glancing through Ghanaian photographer Yaa Annobil’s incredibly captivating body of work, it’s not hard to become enthralled in the mostly black and white pixelated seemingly mundane, yet aesthetically captivating moments she captures. Moments framed as stories that seem interpretable solely between the photographer and those made eternal through these interactions. Wanting to know more, Yaa and I discussed his journey as a photographer and the intricacies of her artistic tendencies.
In about five sentences or less, tell us a little bit about who you are, where you’re based and what you do.
Put simply, I am a Ghanaian free-lance photographer, and I try to blur the lines between documentary photography and art. Aged 26, I am based in Accra, Ghana, but as I type, I am in London, making preparations for a photographic exploration of Nigeria.
I work with film exclusively – black and white primarily, and generally, I shoot with a cheap and battered old Pentax.
How and when did your exploration of photography as an artistic tool begin?
As a teenager I imagined I would follow in my father’s footsteps, and become a journalist / writer. However, my interest in the machinations of innumerable dictatorial regimes, coupled with a tendency to pen subversive critique, rendered this plan somewhat unwise (and dangerous). Consequently, photography is my ‘voice’.
I have always loved the art-form, but not the aesthetically beautiful & romantic, or deeply fatalistic depictions of Africa and the so-called developing world - 1D pictorial propaganda essentially. With this in mind, I picked up my ME Super at around 20, and decided to explore my country honestly.
You photograph almost exclusively in black and white, and there’s a very distinct relationship between the subjects in your photographs and you, the photographer, that is incredibly intimate without seeming intrusive. Stylistically, how would you describe your photography and photographic approach to your subjects?
Many of the people I photograph, live decidedly precarious lives. In simple terms, peace exists in Ghana, but its children have been failed theatrically. Though beauty is present in many things in Ghana, I sense sorrow in just about everything I see - specifically, I know the stories of everybody I shoot. I am never tempted to manipulate my subjects, as the decision to confront their pain, and not mask or avoid it, means interesting photographs simply present themselves to me.
Occasionally, I shoot in colour to capture potent societal irony, but something about textured greys and abyssal darkness appeals to me. I use B&W to capture deep emotion, but also the pain present in ‘the mundane’. I shoot the bulk of my images at night; surrounded by mosquitoes, stifled by heavy air, and the aroma of work-weary, sleep-deprived fellow countrymen.
What role does being Ghanaian - and thus, an African - play in your creative process, if any? Can you tell us a little about your experiences shooting in Ghana?
Shooting in Ghana breaks my heart, but I feel myself descending into cavernous misery whenever I leave the country (I think every African can relate to this).
As a Ghanaian I endeavor to capture Ghana as it is – epic magnificence AND tragic destitution. The latter angers many, and I am often pummeled with a barrage of accusations; apparently I am not a true nationalist, but this suits me, as I am driven by cultural obligation, and a deep commitment to my land - not childish denial.
In many ways, I believe Ghana is a microcosm of the contemporary African realty – without doubt, this informs my approach.
Why did you chose tumblr as a platform to showcase your work, and what are some of the highlights of your journey as a photographer thus far?
Tumblr interests me greatly. There is something interesting about viewing my images re-contextualized – working out what my work represents to a diverse batch of people is always enjoyable, often surprising, and always humbling.
Every re-post is a highlight.
Any future plans or projects you’d like to share?
Not too long ago, I traveled to New York, to work with amazing musician and extraordinary poet Kae Sun, and creative visionary / incontrovertibly remarkable / acutely intelligent Joshua Kissi. We created a collection of images of Kae Sun for ‘Afriyie’: his sophomore LP. I enjoyed this experience immensely, and I hope the world will like what we created.
My heart resides in Africa. I shall travel to Nigeria very soon, to complete an interesting project with my friend Nnamdi Awa Kalu. I also plan to explore the Northern regions of Ghana – particularly those ravaged by economic globalization climate change, and traditionally anemic governmental subsidy.
Where else can you be found? (other social media sites, official website, etc)
My website: www.yaaannobil.com
Thanks so much, Yaa!
Thank you :)
Lagos, Nigeria
What used to be the site of the Yaba Market in Lagos
men at work.
men in my village
Some friends and some family at Bar Beach
Arwa Abouon was born May 3rd 1982 in Tripoli, Libya, to Amazigh roots from both her mother and father’s side of the family.
A native of North Africa; Amazigh means Free People. She received a BFA with distinction, majoring in Design from Concordia University in 2007.
Through her lighthearted photographs to graphic interventions, she questions her own place within a so-called Western culture on the one hand and an upbringing in a Muslim household on the other.
