Photographers Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher have devoted 30 years to
exploring the traditions, cultures and people of Africa. They immerse
themselves in the lifestyle of a particular tribe by living in the same
manner and eating the same food in order to befriend people whose stories
they hope to tell personally and intimately.
The images they have captured in their journeys across the vast continent have been published in more than 10 books including, "African Art: People and Ancient Cultures of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa," "Nomads of Niger," "Maasai" and "Faces of Africa: Thirty Years of Photography."
"Passages: Photographs in Africa," the first in a three-part
series, is the focus of the "Passages"
art exhibit currently on display at the Bowers
Museum in Santa Ana. A hundred of the photos are from this double-volume
collection, which was based on a 10-year "A
frican
Ceremonies" study in which they documented ceremonies and rituals
marking transition points in the human life cycle covering 36 countries and
150 ethnic groups.
Coinciding with the exhibit, the London-based pair launched their newest book, "The Dinka," which examines the fragile culture of the Sudan cattle herders in a 30-year span.
"Back in the '70's they were a lovely, very tall, innocent people living an idyllic lifestyle," said Fisher. This elegant tribe became entangled in civil conflicts over the years with an estimated 2 million massacred, including the recent violence in Darfur. Today, AK-47s and Western garb are more common sights than they used to be.
The book, available in the Bowers Museum bookstore, helps to fund Beckwith's and Fisher's African Ceremonies charitable foundation, which supports their ongoing work in Angola, Botswana, Tanzania and Cameroon, among other places.
