The external gate of traditional earth building, Mopti, Mali.
Photograph by Eliot Elisofon, 1970.
EEPA EENG 05807
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives
National Museum of African Art
Smithsonian Institution
Earlier this month the United Nations, the government of Kenya, and that of Somalia reached an agreement to help Somali refugee in Kenya return to Somalia voluntarily. Kenyan Internal Security Minister Joseph Lenku has said that the refugee camps must close, however the UN has stated that this is not an official command and that refugees will not be forced to leave.
More than 500,000 Somali refugees live in Kenya and refugee camps such as Dadaab and Kakuma are so large that they resemble cities. In fact, Dadaab is the third largest city in all of Kenya and many residents have spent their entire lives there. The camps began when Somalis fled the collapse of their central government in 1991 and have grown since then as Somalis have continued to flee internal conflict.
Mainly due to security concerns and public pressure, the Kenyan government desperately wishes to disband the camps. However many Somalis do not wish to return to Somalia because it remains a dangerous place to live with little future for their children; many do not even consider themselves Somali having never lived there. Despite Africa having historically porous borders, current politicians are extremely reluctant to integrate refugee populations despite the fact that they can become valuable assets in terms of resources and human-capital.
The plight of the Somali refugees in Kenya and refugee camps in general, brings to mind Otobong Nkanga’s sculpture The Limits of Mapping, which is shown below. The Limits of Mapping is a table shaped as a map with strong geometric borders and giant wooden rods piercing key locations making it difficult for the viewer to examine the piece. The table is significant because it alludes to the piece of furniture over which colonial rulers historically created borders and defined nations. The wooden rods portray the violence of this process which ignores the lives of those who occupy the land and who bear the consequences of the decisions.
In Kenya right now, more than 500,000 Somalis are confined to refugee camps and denied human rights because of where they were born. The Kenyan government is right to be concerned about security problems caused by refugee camps, but refusing to integrate them is not a long-term solution when they have nowhere else to safely go.
Otobong Nkanga b. 1974
Nigeria Limits of Mapping 2010
Wood, acrylic paint, metal
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20819462
http://www.trust.org/item/20131126151947-5cu9a/
http://www.voanews.com/content/un-refuses-to-close-somali-refugee-camps-in-kenya/1797351.html
Today’s guest post comes from a pair of artists known collectively as Mwangi Hutter, who were featured in the Earth Matter’s exhibition. True to form and to this pair’s sensitive and poignant work, today’s post is a poem, or, more correctly, a poetic reflection on our relationship to planet Earth.
The sound of the world
Mwangi Hutter
The sound of the world has changed
it surrounds us with its deafening call
defeat
to repeat
to change
to blame
there is nothing I can do but listen
and watch while my tears blur the painful images
while I shake my head in disbelief
knowing I must believe.
if I don’t, who will listen to the screams to make them go away?
who will take them, engulf them, transform them
what can I do? I swallow the images that burn my memory.
I am dazed. I cannot allow
I allow it to happen
I am part of it
I don’t want to have any, any part in it
resignation marks my face, repulsion, sadness
and again disbelief
and again the questions arise
what can I do
do I do
do I do enough?
there is never enough done
until it stops
until the images fade to leave light
until
hurt is blinding me
making me numb
I need not judge nor care nor wonder
it is as it is
‘violence is a part of human nature’
I want no part of that part
I have to decide. Am I here to be within myself
or do I want to stand beside me and let them beat
kill the mother
whip the child
teach him to hold a gun
gun them down
download their useless
leech the bleeding earth
run from
hide through
never feel resposible
blame
justify
repeat
defeat humanity.
I will need to scream
to turn the inner scream outwards
to aim it
to kill the killers killing
but softly and strongly
need to believe that
if we don’t, I don’t know what will happen.
Earlier this month Typhoon Hiayan, one of the strongest storms ever recorded, wreaked havoc across the Philippines, claimed thousands of lives, and caused incredible amounts of physical damage. Typhoon Hiayan has been spoken of as a “once in a lifetime” example of extreme weather by politicians and the press. However, such extreme acts of nature are becoming increasingly common and scientists are increasingly finding reasons to link these occurrences to climate change.
This week the latest round of UN climate talks has been taking place in Warsaw, Poland. The representative from the Philippines claimed that climate change was to blame for the strength and destruction of Typhoon Hiayan and that such disaster was man-made. This leads one to the question: if greenhouse emissions from wealthy countries are causing natural disasters abroad, how should those who suffer be compensated? This morning representatives from most of the world’s poor countries walked out of the meeting after the EU, the US, and Australia all insisted on postponing the discussion of compensation for extreme climate change until 2015 at the earliest. African countries are many of those believed to be most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
The discussion happening in Warsaw at the moment highlights how intertwined the world is; environmental destruction is an international problem, however the burden falls mostly on the global poor. This brings to mind the painting by Jerry Buhari Fall and Spill History. This painting has two main narratives: one is the beautiful autumnal colors of trees in North America, and the other is the twisted beauty of oil spills in the Niger Delta, which exist in order to heat homes in the United States. Buhari’s piece expresses the importance in understanding that our modern way of life is not without consequences.
Fall and Spill History
Jerry Buhari
b. 1959, Nigeria
Fall and Spill History
2005
Acrylic on canvas
Collection of Linda Lawrence, Salina, Kansas
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/nov/18/extreme-weather-climate-change-ipcc
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25010515
“Alger – Notre Dame d’Afrique.” [Algiers – Our Lady of Africa.]
Photographer unknown.
c. 1939, postcard, hand-colored collotype
Printed by Combier Imprimeur Mâcon
EEPA Postcard Collection, AE-06-32
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives
National Museum of African Art
Smithsonian Institution
A short time ago, teens and teachers participated in a workshop at the Smithsonian, National Museum of African Art in our esteemed Warren M. Robbins Library. Building their critical writing skills around the Earth Matters exhibition and the Feldman method of art criticism, students took an intellectual journey through the exhibit. The video documents their adventure, check it out!
Today’s guest post comes from Candace LaRocca, one of the docents at the Smithsonian, National Museum of African Art and a great friend of the museum. During the years of preparation for Earth Matters, LaRocca has been involved in numerous aspects of the show, most notably helping to translate for our artists from Francophone Africa. In the following post, LaRocca gives a warm and personal account of her experience with working with two artists from Morocco, Hassan Echair and Younes Rahmoun.
From time to time, docents are asked to help out in other areas in which we have a special interest or skill. I was asked if I could do a rough translation of the one-hour interviews that Karen Milbourne, curator of the Earth Matters exhibition, had taped with the artists Hassan Echair and Younes Rahmoun in Morocco. I saw this opportunity as a “win/win” situation; it would allow me to brush up on my French at the same time that I would get to know the artists’ work, which would assist me in giving tours of Earth Matters!
By accepting this assignment I was able to become very familiar with their work. The honor of transcribing Dr. Milbourne’s interview required listening to the audiotape a multitude of times!!!. The benefit was that I felt that I actually was “on location” with her and the artists in Morocco! I could hear birds chirping in the background during Echair’s interview, I could hear other conversations and work going on during Rahmoun’s interview, and these details made a powerful impression that transported me to Morocco and the artist’s studios. It was amazing to see how much they covered during their one-hour conversation: upon transcription, each interview would be about 14 typewritten pages!
While Echair was unable to come to Washington D.C. for the installation of his work, Anthony Stellaccio (the Earth Matters Project Manager) arranged for the installation of his work to be handled via “Skype,” another first-time opportunity for both me and the museum. We started at 8:00 AM. The installation site was set up as a mini movie set. I sat in a corner while the screen was focused on Echair’s work. I interpreted while he worked with our design team for the installation of “Ascension.” I was quite relieved to see him smiling, drinking a cup of Moroccan mint tea and holding his little girl on his lap in his living room. It seemed such a nice family setting and so relaxed and charming. I shared with him that I was concerned for his personal well being since he had spoken so emotionally with Dr. Milbourne about his work and concerns. His response was “Yes, my work is not a joy; but someone has to represent these people.”
Gallery shot of Hassan Echair’s Ascension
Bamboo, quartz, cord, paint, installed at NMAfA in 2013
Photograph by Franko Khoury
I was able to meet Younès Rahmoun personally during the opening of the exhibition; he was equally kind and caring. As soon as I introduced myself, he wanted to let me know that there was another French- speaking artist who might need some help. I recalled that he and Dr. Milbourne had discussed the work of Wolfgang Laib during their interview and let Younès know that Laib’s Wax Room was on display at the Phillip’s Collection (a museum of Modern Art in DC). He managed to see the work prior to his return home and commented that it was “awesome.”
As a docent, I now have the opportunity to add a personal perspective to my tours as a result of my meetings with these artists. Both Echair and Rahmoun are very deeply involved in their work and committed to expressing the needs and concerns of the people they represent.
Gallery shot of Younes Rahmoun’s Kemmoussa
Plastic bags and compressed nails, installed at NMAfA in 2013
Photograph by Franko Khoury
