About Mali Monuments
This book is an edition of 15 (sold out) and opens to 16.5 by 22 inches. Layout, design and printing by Ian van Coller. Book binding by Rory Sparks. Cover paper and end sheets are hand made papers by Mary Hark.
This series of photographs was made in Mali, West Africa. Having grown up in South Africa during the apartheid era I am particularly interested in issues related to African identity. During my childhood I was influenced by both European and African traditions, but the bulk of my formal education was centered on European and South African history from a strictly European perspective. As a result, I am fascinated with the deep legacies of colonialism still apparent today throughout modern Africa, and in the persistent perception of Africa as the “dark continent.” This fascination with colonialism has structured my approach to photography. My view of the subjects is both distanced and scientific—yet the forms I choose become monumental, and unique in their “Africanness.” In essence, I have created my own unique portraits of “African Monuments” that are separate from the imposed and constructed European monuments that I grew up learning about in school.
This edition is sold out.
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