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Reflections - part 3 Beyond Horizons

Journal Entry: Fri Mar 14, 2008, 5:00 AM
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Continuation of the Reflections journal

Part 1 "Poverty & Paradise" [link]
Part 2 "The Face of Africa" [link]



Even though of these pictures are nearly 2 decades old, I feel they still hold their appeal. For one, they serve as a recording of a particular time in Africa's history - but in many ways, nothing much has changed.
While the rest of the world surges forward at an alarming rate - though I'm not sure if you can call it progress * - in many parts of Africa, people are still desperate for their next meal.

(*for a mind blowing visual impact of modern day trends, please follow the link
...and these are just the stats for the US, never mind the rest of the world.
[link]
"11,000 jet trails, the number of commercial flights in the US every eight hours.
426,000 cell phones, the number of cell phones retired in the US every day
106,000 aluminum cans, the number used in the US every thirty seconds.")



Why do so many of these questions remain unanswered ?
Inside us, do we not have the answers ?





As a continent, Africa I would say is the most exploited in the world - a dumping ground for political weapons to fuel ongoing factions & enlarge fat cat wallets. A haven for drug trafficing, blood diamonds & many other kinds of exploitation.

All of this aside, one has to consider some of Africa's own roots. Tribal factions have been part of her history for centuries. The legacy of genocide, dictatorships & general hatred towards ones fellow man still alarms and saddens me. This coupled with corrupt governments - which seems to be in fashion all over the world these days, does not make it any easier for those of us who do believe in love & dignity.

Before any concept of unity can be achieved, we have to consider our roots.
Once that is understood, are we as a people willing to change ?





During the early 1990's I worked for a non profit organisation which was involved in humanitarian aid in Africa. It was here that I was given the wonderful opportunity not only to travel across this mysterious continents borders, but also to learn the art of photography which was primarily used, at the time, to assist in fund raising for this work.
I wish to share a few of the pictures I took along the way, with the hope that they hold some of the essence & heartbeat of this 'Dark Continent'.









As I do not possess all the film to these pictures, I have scanned a few from the original prints, removed dust & scratches and enhanced the tonal values. At a closer glance you will notice some noise (before pixels came the grain of the film) or of the pictures might seem a little faded. I have enhanced them as best I can, but have in no way altered the images themselves.










Mamma Afrika

Cradle of Life
Master of Tyranny
Epitome of Suffering
Exploited Playground of the West
Dark Horse of Potential
Extremity of Wonder
Hope of Tomorrow










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Please stay tuned for the next journal entry, which will most likely feature something completely different...

:popcorn:


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COPYRIGHT NOTICE ©
Respectfully DO NOT use anything from my gallery for blogs, websites, myspace, face book, banners, designs, posters, cd's, books etc WITHOUT my written approval. My work is NOT stock
If you see my work being used, please e-mail me - bagend@iafrica.com
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:icontoonrama:
good journal dear Donald... :)

--
Set a bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in the sky.
- Tagore.
:icondonaldsart:
thank you so much
:hug:

--
Visit my Journal [link]

Can art change the world ? 

86%
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Gallery/Journal Index






Born to be Wild

An introduction to my
WILDLIFE ART JOURNAL[link]:-)







REFLECTIONS (My African Photo Journal)

Poverty & Paradise Journal[link]:-)





The Face of Africa Journal[link]:-)





Beyond HorizonsJournal[link]:-)



• there is still 1 more journal entry to follow in this series





Not Concrete

An introduction to my
ABSTRACT ART Journal[link]:-)








Staying Tooned

An introduction to my
CARTOON Journal[link]:-)







:iconrippedarttaskforce:











Private Commissions
bagend@iafrica.com




"Don't forget the scraps"

Shoutbox

~tanisha-dreamer:icontanisha-dreamer:
Amazing work... Hope that in the future I might be as good as you. =D
Sat Oct 4, 2008, 2:28 PM
=toonrama:icontoonrama:
i love your journals and posts.. and your polls...
Mon May 19, 2008, 4:19 AM
~fangdracona:iconfangdracona:
Hey your artwork is amazing Africa rules love the cheetah pictures my favorite animal.
Wed Jan 16, 2008, 5:54 PM
*donaldsart:icondonaldsart:
and to you - all the best for 2007
Thu Dec 14, 2006, 10:41 PM
~linwe-calmcacil:iconlinwe-calmcacil:
(I was typing and hit enter instead of shift...) what I was going to say was, as its the Silly Season, Merry Christmas :santa:
Thu Dec 14, 2006, 6:27 AM
~linwe-calmcacil:iconlinwe-calmcacil:
as its the s
Thu Dec 14, 2006, 6:26 AM

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