Ghana & beyond...
is an anthropological adventure, combining people with passion, poetry with photos and reality with facts of life. Furthermore, it is the result of my 7 months in Ghana, traveling through the outskirts, exploring the urban vibes and living in one of the most aggressively developing African countries.
Ghana is facing enormous issues, due to the modernization of a culture that has not yet left it´s roots behind, the still growing glorification of the west and the last-mentioned growing interest in "The Black Star". Natural resources and raw materials such as oil, gold and diamonds are not hard to come by in the former Gold Coast - and everybody wants their take.
I embarked on this journey with my camera, mind, body and soul and gave in to the people I met along the way. Getting their independence in 1958, there are still descendants from the old days - the days where white people packing a camera was bad news. Either they wanted to spy and / or they reported back to the west, with portraits of starving people living in extreme poverty, small children crying and even people living in trees - the horrible thing is that part of us "still" think this is true.
So, goes without saying that the first couple of months were pretty challenging - in fact I spent 2 months hanging out with people without any camera, getting their ways to know and them to know me. I sat down with people, had a beer, a calabash of palm-wine or joined them for banku/fufu and maybe even a reefer. We became friends!
I absolutely agree that Ghanaians are some the most friendly and openhearted people in the world…this is their story.
PS: for now, the project solely consist of pictures - but in time and hopefully in a book, their stories will be told through small poetic phrases.
Come join in and hang out - the photos are gonna be at Democratic Coffee ( Main Library, Krystalgade 15 - Copenhagen ). I would love to see you at the launch on the 4th of august, from 12-16.
I give thanks!
is an anthropological adventure, combining people with passion, poetry with photos and reality with facts of life. Furthermore, it is the result of my 7 months in Ghana, traveling through the outskirts, exploring the urban vibes and living in one of the most aggressively developing African countries.
Ghana is facing enormous issues, due to the modernization of a culture that has not yet left it´s roots behind, the still growing glorification of the west and the last-mentioned growing interest in "The Black Star". Natural resources and raw materials such as oil, gold and diamonds are not hard to come by in the former Gold Coast - and everybody wants their take.
I embarked on this journey with my camera, mind, body and soul and gave in to the people I met along the way. Getting their independence in 1958, there are still descendants from the old days - the days where white people packing a camera was bad news. Either they wanted to spy and / or they reported back to the west, with portraits of starving people living in extreme poverty, small children crying and even people living in trees - the horrible thing is that part of us "still" think this is true.
So, goes without saying that the first couple of months were pretty challenging - in fact I spent 2 months hanging out with people without any camera, getting their ways to know and them to know me. I sat down with people, had a beer, a calabash of palm-wine or joined them for banku/fufu and maybe even a reefer. We became friends!
I absolutely agree that Ghanaians are some the most friendly and openhearted people in the world…this is their story.
PS: for now, the project solely consist of pictures - but in time and hopefully in a book, their stories will be told through small poetic phrases.
Come join in and hang out - the photos are gonna be at Democratic Coffee ( Main Library, Krystalgade 15 - Copenhagen ). I would love to see you at the launch on the 4th of august, from 12-16.
I give thanks!
