“Troops in Mauritania oust the government”, “Guinea turmoil threatens lucrative mining deal”, “Dumped computers cause toxic concerns in Ghana”, “ANC supporters warn of blood in the streets”, “The Niger Delta: The curse of the black gold”… another normal day in Africa, viewed from the Western Media. Africa suffers from a ‘deficit of image’: where Africans see the West mostly through Hollywood movies, we, in the West, only hear about Africa through depressing media headlines.
There is no denying that Africa faces many issues, but all the positives coming from the Continent are never reported on. This Afro-pessimism hides many encouraging news. African economies grow at rates far higher than in the West, boosted by high commodity prices. Many countries (France and the UK, the two main former colonial powers, but also the United States and China) have a renewed interest for these lands.
The Other Africa
is a photographic project aiming at giving a new vision of the continent.
The project is articulated around three main themes:
- portraits of African workers from the emerging middle class
- cityscapes at night
- portraits of radio DJs
My ultimate aim is to visit all 54 countries in Africa*, in order to create an exhaustive body of work following these three themes and to produce a photographic exhibition of 54 images.
