We can hardly wait to get back down to West Africa, to carry on working on our personal projects – one of which is a photographic anthology of the traditional masquerades of The Gambia, West Africa.
As a photography producer, my work takes place behind-the-scenes of assignments, ensuring that everything runs as smoothly as possible for and during shoot days – often a lengthy process from pre through to post production. Perks of the job? Watching Jason Florio at work – his knack of putting all those he works with so quickly at ease is continually inspiring – you can see, from the end results, how well he does this. There is another aspect of our work together, which I enjoy in equal measure – watching the fascination, amusement and, often, bemusement on the faces of those people you don’t see in the final edit… those outside of the frame.
Don’t get too close to the ‘Fairies’! Banjul, The Gambia
Here comes the bride – Banjul, The Gambia
On guard! Banjul, The Gambia
There is a photographer somewhere in this photograph – Banjul, The Gambia, West Africa
There is always time to interact with the kids – Kembujeh village, The Gambia
Locals stay well clear of ‘The Hunter’ – Kembujeh village, The Gambia
Street photography -Banjul, The Gambia, West Africa
Jason’s camera is loaned to a budding photographer – from a Malian masquerade group, Banjul, The Gambia
I do, however, think that I can safely add ‘security person’ to my résumé now – when on so many of our shoots, I regularly have to keep thirty curious kids from jumping in front, gesticulating madly (double thumbs up, gangsta style backwards peace sign, and smart military-like salutes, being the top three), of Jason’s lens!
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After Jason and I finished our inaugural ‘Photos Tell Stories:teaching photography – a visual language‘ photography workshops, in Gambia, West Africa – the culmination of which was an exhibition of the young Gambian students work at Alliance Française – we began to look around for new photography projects in the region.
Both of us have always been fascinated by the traditional Gambian ‘masquerades’ – after having seen many over the years, throughout the country and in neighboring Senegal – dynamic, wonderfully mysterious, and sometimes down right dark and scary!
Whether it be a circumcision ceremony, celebrating a successful harvest, chasing away evil spirits, enforcing village rules, or simply for entertainment, masquerades play a central and significant role in many parts of West African society.
Before we left The Gambia last month – a short hiatus to spend time with family – we began to work on the masquerade project…
We’re also working closely with the Gambia National Centre for Arts and Culture – to produce a series of masquerade portraits for an exhibition in the near future. There is an abundance of masquerades – from the ‘Cumpo‘, ‘Kankurang‘, ‘The Hunter‘, ‘Agomalah’, to the stilted ‘Monpara‘. We look forward to exploring these more fully, when we return to West Africa in the coming months – delving deep into the origins and traditions of each one we meet; to create a photographic anthropology of the traditional masquerade
On the opening night of the Photos Tell Stories exhibition, we were very fortunate to be introduced to highly accomplished Togolese artist, Amigoe Dieudonné . During further meetings, Amigoe – an articulate, charismatic man – began to tell us the compelling story of his life, since leaving his Togolese home and family at 19 years old, living as a disabled artist, in various countries in West Africa. And, how his travels have shaped the very distinctive art he produces today.
We began to film and photograph Amigoe – again, shortly before we left The Gambia – who invited us into to his home and studio, to fully share with us the rich and vibrant tapestry of his life. We look forward to continuing this story too, when we return.
If you would like to receive updates, simply add your email address to the box in the left hand column of this page – you may also like to check what we are up to on FB, twitter, and Instagram
We would like to extend our thoughts to all those, in West Africa, who have been affected by the recent Ebola crisis, and we pray that it does not spread further.
Along with updates we post on here, we’ll be adding our travel photos to our new Instagram page: floriotravels – featuring photos from Jason Florio and myself whether they be work, play, or simply day-to-day life scenes that capture our imagination. Please feel free to ‘follow‘
At the moment, we are having a short hiatus from West Africa – a few thousand miles north, in the UK, visiting family and friends – recharging our batteries, ready to head back down there in a few weeks time. However, we sorely miss strolls on the beach…
PHOTOS TELL STORIES - documentary | filmmaking | photography | people | travel 