Objects of Reminiscence
“I think I started taking these photographs as a way of coming to terms with the harsh realisation that much of Africa’s natural beauty has been eliminated as the need for food and arable land has increased. Kitsch representations of the previous splendour and colour of Africa have replaced the former natural beauty. In hotels, restaurants and public spaces, the presence of unnaturally bright, artificial flowers, wild animals and other depictions in a poor reminder of the past. The modern effigies, often made in China, are juxtaposed against backdrops that are often stark and unadorned. Public buildings and hotels often date to colonial times and their tired, worn surfaces form another reminder of time lost.” Graeme Williams.
The dining room at the Hotel Zambeze. Tete, Mozambique. 2010.
The reception at Lazan' Androy Hotel, Ambovombe, Madagascar. 2009.
The guest lounge at The Lodge. Lilongwe, Malawi. 2009.
A stuffed lion at the Swaziland Parliament Buildings. Lobamba, Swaziland. 2010.
The departure lounge at the East London Airport. South Africa. 2006.
The departures hall at Kamuzu International Airport. Lilongwe, Malawi. 2009.
A room at the Mirabeau Hotel. Bamako, Mali. 2009.
A hallway at the Mirabeau Hotel. Bamako, Mali. 2009.
A breakfast table setting at the Black Swan Guest House. Maseru, Lesotho. 2009
Roadside Kiosk, Bamako, Mali. 2009
A roadside restaurant and club. Luanda, Angola. 2011.
A flower bed at the Hotel Zambeze. Tete, Mozambique. 2010.
The dining room at Hotel Monte Carlo. Maputo, Mozambique. 2010.
The one-roomed airport building. Kabanga, Tanzania. 2007.
Dinner settings at the Jimma Central Hotel. Jimma, Ethiopia. 2010.
Canhavano school welcomes a guest. Chibuto district, Mozambique. 2010.
About
Graeme Williams, based in Johannesburg, South Africa is qualified as a geologist but his photography hobby became his vocation. He worked as a press and freelance photographer in South Africa and London. From 1989, he covered the end of apartheid in South Africa and the transition to democracy for Reuters. From 1991, he was a member of Afrapix, a progressive photographers’ collective that played a crucial role in covering the truth of events in this contested period of heavy censorship. With other Afrapix photographers, he later founded and managed South Photographs Agency. He continues to work on both commissioned and personal projects in South Africa and internationally. Assignments have taken him to over forty countries.
He is represented by Axis Gallery, New York and belongs to network of photo agency, Panos Pictures.
All images courtesy of the artist. All rights reserved.
