Last Rites Niger Delta. The Drama of Oil Productions in Contemporary Photographs.
From March 17th to September 16th 2012 the German Munich State Museum of Ethnology shows an exhibition focusing the extreme environamental pollution leading to vaste human catastrophies in Nigeria’s Niger Delta.
Exposition
du 17 Mars au 16 Septembre 2012
Horaires : 00:00
Horaires : 00:00
Photo
Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde München – Maximilianstraße 42, 80538 – Allemagne
English
Since 1956 numerous oil wells have been drilled in the Niger Delta with grave consequences to its human inhabitants, its flora and fauna. In spite of millions of barrels of oil transported above ground from thousands of wells through endless kilometers of pipelines there is no data about the « estuaries » of leaking drilling wells and rotten technical equipment. Anyway, minimal attention is payed to so called collateral damages yet. To get the general public into a sensual kind of touch with this, the exhibition-developers have chosen a very immediate approach. To depict the catastrope’s complete range, only photography can play the center-part of the exhibition.
Consequently, the project puts on stage most impressive pictures of the 20 best-known native and international photographers from the area. Examples of documenta XII-artist George Osodi appear side by side with pictures created by Akintunde Akinleye, Akinbode Akinbiyi, Sunday Alamba, Crew Sandy Cioffi, Pamela Dore, Pius Utomi Ekpei, George Esiri, Jane Hahn, Tim Hetherington, Chris Hondros, Uche James Iroha, Michael Kamber, Ed Kashi, Kadir van Lohuizen, Sunday Ohwo, Emeka Okereke, Jacob Silberberg, Sven Torfinn and Timipre Willis-Amah.
Strange to say, documentary photographic material turns into artwork. But exactly this transformation has created a striking effective tool to provide the visitor with intimate and exciting insights. Where words can never be enough to express feelings, pictures shoot at the spectator’s awareness and just therefore hit the bull’s eye. This intensity is amplified by an elaboreted new kind of presentation-technique which makes the large-format-photographies literally shine from within. The contraposition with a bunch of fine-art-ethnographica from the museum’s Africa-collection evokes a great deal of tension and extends the visitor’s sensorial experience.
The catalogue-book « Last Rites Niger Delta. The Drama of Oil Productions in Contemporary Photographs » (edited by Christine Stelzig, Eva Ursprung, Stefan Eisenhofer,112 pages, english brochure, EUR 14,80.-, ISBN 9 783927 270657) provides more than an up to date overview on the topic. It is designed to take along pictures, statements and relevant data on all circumstances of today’s Niger Delta in a handy way. The contributing authors do not only come from the team of ethnological specialists. Jounalists, photo-artists, botanists and ichthyologists do also refer their personal experiences from their very specific personal angle.
(Copyright photo ©Akintunde Akinleye)
Consequently, the project puts on stage most impressive pictures of the 20 best-known native and international photographers from the area. Examples of documenta XII-artist George Osodi appear side by side with pictures created by Akintunde Akinleye, Akinbode Akinbiyi, Sunday Alamba, Crew Sandy Cioffi, Pamela Dore, Pius Utomi Ekpei, George Esiri, Jane Hahn, Tim Hetherington, Chris Hondros, Uche James Iroha, Michael Kamber, Ed Kashi, Kadir van Lohuizen, Sunday Ohwo, Emeka Okereke, Jacob Silberberg, Sven Torfinn and Timipre Willis-Amah.
Strange to say, documentary photographic material turns into artwork. But exactly this transformation has created a striking effective tool to provide the visitor with intimate and exciting insights. Where words can never be enough to express feelings, pictures shoot at the spectator’s awareness and just therefore hit the bull’s eye. This intensity is amplified by an elaboreted new kind of presentation-technique which makes the large-format-photographies literally shine from within. The contraposition with a bunch of fine-art-ethnographica from the museum’s Africa-collection evokes a great deal of tension and extends the visitor’s sensorial experience.
The catalogue-book « Last Rites Niger Delta. The Drama of Oil Productions in Contemporary Photographs » (edited by Christine Stelzig, Eva Ursprung, Stefan Eisenhofer,112 pages, english brochure, EUR 14,80.-, ISBN 9 783927 270657) provides more than an up to date overview on the topic. It is designed to take along pictures, statements and relevant data on all circumstances of today’s Niger Delta in a handy way. The contributing authors do not only come from the team of ethnological specialists. Jounalists, photo-artists, botanists and ichthyologists do also refer their personal experiences from their very specific personal angle.
(Copyright photo ©Akintunde Akinleye)
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