Category: Development
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Through Positive Eyes Durban 4
Yvonne Yvonne’s family live without piped water or sanitation but they own three Smartphones, one tablet, a laptop and a TV. Far from being luxuries these devices are likely to be their way out of poverty. Her two oldest daughters are very clever and technologically able. Yvonne works at the Gugu Dlemini AIDS Foundation. She […]
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Through Positive Eyes – Durban 2
Elizabeth (See previous post for the background to this project) Elizabeth is currently presenting her work at the Durban Art Gallery as part of the Through Positive Eyes show, coinciding with the International AIDS Conference. The show has been designed by Stan Pressner to enable the participants to tell their stories and interact with projections […]
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Through Positive Eyes – Durban
Photo by Silungile I’m just back from working on the final chapter of this international arts and advocacy project, in which HIV+ve participants photograph their lives to combat stigma. I teach photography, and co-edit the work with the participants, alongside Gideon Mendel and Prof. David Gere’s team from the Art and Global Health Centre at […]
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Displaces. A photo-project in the Calais ‘Jungle’.
This mysterious photograph of the Calais ‘Jungle’ is the work of 18 year-old Esyas (his name has been changed), an artist from Eritrea. He is taking part in the Displaces photo project set up by Prof. Corinne Squire. I’ve been working alongside Gideon Mendel, teaching photography and editing the results of a two day workshop. […]
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Work, Climate and Donkeys
For donkeys as well as people, the brick kilns in India are dangerous and unhealthy places to work – but unemployment is worse. At the RAJ kiln near Agra, accommodation for donkeys and their owners lies empty. Unseasonal rains have waterlogged the brick kilns and there’s no work for them here. Back in the […]
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Home Lives of the Donkey People
Donkey owners – problem or solution? Itinerant donkey owners working in Gujarat’s brick kilns spend 24 hours a day with their donkeys. They live, work, play and abide together. The donkeys’ welfare is entirely in the people’s hands. So who are they, and how do they live alongside their animals? I hope these photographs from […]
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Grazing
In the UK the word ‘grazing’ brings to mind lush green fields. In Madhupur village near Agra we followed donkey owner Daudayal as he took his family’s donkeys to the only grazing available to them. The land doubles as a latrine for the entire village, which lacks basic sanitation. Seeing donkeys eating human excrement turned […]
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Smartphones
Itinerant brick kiln workers use WhatsApp to stay in touch. Donkey owner-drivers working in the brick kilns of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh are paid every Friday, but receive a lump sum payment at the end of the brick-making season. This allows them to buy Indian-made smartphones costing about 5,000 Rupees each. Most donkey owners are […]
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Animal traction
In the UK animal traction and haulage are things of the past – relegated to the heritage industry. In India draft animals play a key role in the modern economy. Aside from their use in agriculture, donkeys and mules are essential to the construction industry. The livelihoods of many thousands of marginalised families are reliant […]
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Brick Story
India is experiencing a building boom to cope with its rapid urbanisation. Thousands of concrete-frame high rise blocks, with brick infill, can be seen rising up arund Delhi and Mumbai. Almost every one of the millions of bricks involved has been transported by donkey or mule at the brick kilns where they are made. So […]
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Modern India is built on the backs of donkeys
Gurgaon, a city outside Delhi, India, is undergoing a boom in construction fuelled by the new Metro link and Delhi’s need for young professionals. Almost every brick in the country has been carried by donkeys during its manufacture. In Gurgaon they also work in lieu of cranes. Unlike cranes the donkeys can deliver bricks and mortar […]
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Bedrooms
This is a male horse with his owner Rohtas. They work in a brick kiln. They both live in a house with plastered and painted walls and electric light. This is a mule with his owner Vedpas. They also work at the brick kiln. The mule also has a nice bedroom, though not quite as […]