Warped Perspective?

Kenya Mon 12-02-2007

Warped Perspective?
By Wangari Mungai

The African Retrospective Photo Exhibition at the French Cultural Centre, Nairobi comes down in a few days’ time. The exhibition that has been running since the beginning of December last year was a showcase of pictures taken around Africa by foreign correspondents based in Nairobi.

The exhibition did not run on a particular theme. The correspondents were asked to present their favourite pictures on any subject, and taken from any part of the African continent.

In the first of its kind exhibition by the Foreign Correspondents Association, FCA, the public that attended the opening of the exhibition on 6th December last year selected the winning picture. The winning picture, by British photographer Georgina Cranston, was of a Sudanese boy drinking water directly from a river.

In their press release, FCA had argued correctly that the exhibition would showcase ‘the work of those who are shaping the image of the (African) continent all over the world’. Despite the fact that the photographers had been asked to chose from their favourite pictures, and not given any theme to work around, their selection was cliché. (Although the press release from the FCA had said that the selection was ‘fascinating and far away from cliché, much of what was on display was about famine, poverty, lack, need, AIDS, guns… the cliché images that portray Africa as still a dark continent.

There were pictures from Northern Uganda, which has become synonymous with rebels, drought in Kenya, a HIV clinic in Nairobi or amputees playing football in Sierra Leone. Of course not all the pictures were told of gloom but where the picture did not tell the whole grim story, the caption did. Take for instance one picture taken in D R Congo during the last general elections late last year.

The picture was a good one, no doubt and was supposed to document a historical moment in the history of the Congo. But the caption read: “Distribution of electoral material and personnel across the vast country was complicated by the poor transport and lack of a functioning civic administration in most areas”. Are the foreign correspondents rightly accused of painting a grim picture of the continent even when they have the opportunity to show a different face of the continent?

“What you see at this exhibition is an echo of how the international media treats Africa,” says Stephen Digges, a freelance photojournalist who runs World Information Resources, a contributor based media collective. “This was a one sided dialogue. It would have been a better idea to have both local and foreign photographers exhibit their work together. The world needs to see Africa through the eyes of her own people”

There were however two Kenyan photographers featured in the exhibition, both of whom work for Reuters. All the others were either from Europe or from the United States. But the FCA chairlady, Dr. Ulrike Koltermann defended the spirit behind the exhibition. “It is a common criticism we get all the time, that we only show a grim side of Africa,” she said. “But what I always say is that the general principle is that bad news is what news is even elsewhere in the world. It is always the bad news that make it to the headlines the world over”.

Since the exhibition did not have a ‘news’ theme, it was a little surprising not to see much of Africa’s cultural diversity, her peoples, or even the environment. “This has nothing to do with Africa, It is the nature of the industry,” said Koltermann. “We just asked for submission and this was what came up!”.

But she said that FCA is hoping to include local photographers in their next exhibition later this year. “It is just that FCA is structured just for the journalists working for international media here in Kenya. We hope that our next exhibition will also feature local photographers.”

What ever happened to the beauty of vast Africa? As much as there is war and famine and disease in Africa, there is too an abundance of love and life and ingenuity, every day everywhere. Perhaps it boils down to capitalism – what sells? Or perhaps a different image of Africa would ruin the romanticized view presented to the West of Africa being a place of risk and dangerous adventure- by novelists and journalists.

“Let’s hope that this is not the standard of the press in Nairobi,” Digges had said at the end of the interview. I can only echo his sentiments and hope the next exhibition later in the year will be more representative of life as it in Africa.

Posted By: African Colours

skip to top

Your Comments

skip to top

African Artists Portfolios

Innocent Nkurunziza is a Mixed Media Artist

Click To View All African Artist Portfolios

Kaafiri Kariuki at the Creativity Gallery

Shades of Time: An exhibition by Kaafiri Kariuki at the Creativity Gallery National Museum of Kenya

Editorials By Regions

Featured Artist Portfolio

Title: Making Ways
Name: Tabitha Wa Thuku
Country: Kenya
Medium: Mixed media on heavy canvas
Size: 149 X 140 cms
Click here to view