Contemporary African Icons

Presenting a series of objects from the past eighty years, which decorate the homes on the african continent, before, during and after the independence era. In the long term, they acquire a different function than originally planned: they become creators of intergenerational ties by bringing grandparents, parents, and children around these objects and through them. Looking at the photographs in this series, the reader is delve into his childhood (and this is all the more poignant for those who grew up in Africa) because these objects evoke their past time: the one with parents and grandparents who used them extensively and passed on their use in daily rituals inside the homes of the old days. Thus, the iron bucket has, originally, the prime function for containing water destined to wash the floors, transporting the freshly washed laundry. But it becomes much more than that when it receives hot water used by a mother during care towards her daughter and her newborn after birth. The iron bucket thus becomes a symbolic link between these three generations. Like the iron bucket, all objects represented in the series are real contemporary african icons, at least how I see them, which every african can relate to. The style is sober and the choice of black and white, although representing a nostalgic feel, is used to strengthen the work of light, featuring a common object as the main actor within a theatrical performance. It is also a mode that allows to work and bring out the textures of each subject. The subtle warm tonality reflects the hot climate that prevails on this continent. The series was produced between 2014 and 2016 in Gabon, Central Africa, where the author has lived for the last ten years. He experienced the aforementioned ties created through these objects within his own family and beyond.