2 nairobis

the most fascinating article in the national geographic’s special issue on africa is (predictably) “inventing a city: nairobi”, a collaboration between david alan harvey on pictures and binyavanga wainaina on words. harvey’s use of a mixed light set up (strobes/daylight) injects more glamor on his view of my home city than is typical of africa-themed photography. but more interestingly, his images mirror wainaina’s essay on the two sides of nairobi; the one part a global city, the other part, east of moi avenue, an “undocumented sprawl of an evolving african city” (per the magazine article).

i grew up west of moi avenue, metaphorically speaking. that and my numerous years in the west make that other side of moi avenue so alien to me; a fact i find so unsettling as i consider nairobi my home. wainaina offers some insight as to why, on this quote from the magazine article:

“Mlango Kubwa is all motion–streams of people finding original ways to survive and thrive. You never get the impression that there are fixed and rooted institutions (buildings, legal entities) around which people organize. The organization of Mlango Kubwa is hidden in the unhindered to-ing and fro-ing of people feeling their way through the day.”

east of moi avenue, the essence of nairobi is largely invisible; to be experienced in the transactions and relationships that form part of daily life. there is no visible structure that someone like me reared on rules and instituitions can use as a guide. east of moi avenue, a true african city is emerging, coexisting with the other side of nairobi, founded on colonial structure and aspiring to global relevance. a true “nairobian” would be comfortable in both nairobis.

other cool stuff on the nairobi story from the nat geo site:
my nairobi: video interview with wainaina discussing his impressions on how nairobi works, or not. (best chapter: “tearoom”)
streets of kenya: images and narration by david alan harvey on his assignment in nairobi. in the paper article he gives props to his assistant

modern traditional dance

The Art of the West African Doundounba: images from Guinea by photographer christopher lamarca.

Doundounbas are African street parties involving a modernized version of traditional drumming and dancing. A microcosm of the larger changes occuring in Africa: Not only have doundounbas incorporated modern Western influences but they are one example of cultural traditions moving from the African village to the urban street.

documenting 5 decades of struggle

alf kumalo: south african photographer, who cut his photographic teeth with the legendary ’50s magazine DRUM and went on document the struggle against apartheid. his work spans images from the treason trials of mandela, sisulu, et al., to the violent last days of the apartheid regime, to his long lasting friendship with muhammad ali whom he met in then zaire for the “rumble in the jungle”.

kind of related: “drum“, 2004 film about life in sophiatown, south africa, inspired by the life of the writers, photographers, musicians, tsotsis who wrote for or were featured in that magazine.

photographers, kids and cameras, continued

bridges: a seattle based organization that partners first world photographers (mentors) with third world kids to teach them digital storytelling. one of their programs is in takaungu, north of mombasa in kenya. check out the story, “maji” about the role of water in various aspects of the community’s life.

kids, cameras and hope

after seeing born into brothels last night, and checking out the ICP exhibition of the kids’ images, was reminded of a couple of other similar projects that have grown from photographers who, touched by the lives they are documenting, attempt to give something back.

shooting back: jim hubbard gives homeless kids in washington dc cameras and photography training.
project shoot back: lana wong gives kids in the slums of mathare, nairobi cameras and photography training.

see also: the soundtrack from the film and the kids’ voices as they related the tragic details of their lives in hindi (?) made me think of sadak chhap (real audio files): a radio documentary that aired on npr a few years ago about street kids in bombay.

p.s: can’t get over “girl on a roof” shot by suchitra (simple background, complementary colors and then a riot of colors creeping in from the side)

inspiration

london born nigerian photographer, stylist, filmmaker andrew dosunmu. recently watched his 1999 film hot irons.

why 8/7 is not equal to 9/11

the last time i was in kenya in 2003, i spent an afternoon with some friends listening in horror at their recollections of the bomb blast in nairobi on 8/7/98. shattered windows a mile away from ground zero, with dust, smoke and paper flying everywhere. the panic and anguish when friends and loved ones couldn’t be reached by phone. people ferrying blood soaked strangers in their cars to local hospitals.

judging from those stories, what happened in nairobi that morning is no different to what happened in london on 7/7, in madrid on 3/11, and in new york on 9/11 in terms of the impact to the cities and their citizens’ sense of security. even though the nairobi bombing hit closer to home metaphorically speaking, i am so much more intimately familiar with the details of the pain surrounding 9/11.

why is that? it could be that new york, london, madrid are media-saturated cities. journalists, photographers (professional and otherwise), digital cameras, cell phone cameras, security cameras, blogs, vlogs, e-mail all helped diseminate the stories surrounding those events in the most intimate detail throughout the world over and over again for days on end.

8/7 is a huge story in nairobi but nowhere else. not because the world doesn’t care what happened there, but because so few stories traveled beyond east africa to capture the world’s attention/sympathy/empathy and elevate the event into the global consciousness. that is the reality of these times. people in london or new york did not suffer more or less than those in nairobi, kikambala, dar-es-salaam, they were just better able to get attention.

i started this post with some research (aka googling) to link to some images in remembrance. the paltry results saddened me and prompted me to blog pensive about it. so, anyway, the images:
pulitzer site: AP staff images
washington post photo gallery: searching for victims and clues
nytimes coverage: embassy bombings in east africa

documentary as work of art

darwin’s nightmare. a documentary about nile perch in lake victoria and the effect on the perch on the ecology, economy and politics of the area around the lake. instead of using the typical tools of the documentarian (talking heads, voice overs), director hubert sauper lets the narrative unfold using on screen dialog and visual imagery. go see.

from new york times review
But “Darwin’s Nightmare” is also a work of art. Given the gravity of Mr. Sauper’s subject, and the rigorous pessimism of his inquiry, it may seem a bit silly to compliment him for his eye. There are images here that have the terrifying sublimity of a painting by El Greco or Hieronymus Bosch: rows of huge, rotting fish heads sticking out of the ground; children turning garbage into makeshift toys. At other moments, you are struck by the natural loveliness of the lake and its surrounding hills, or by the handsome, high-cheekboned faces of many of the Tanzanians.