No remission should be expected from this world. Definitively shipwrecked, his remains lie on the indifference of black sand. Seeing the sublime blacks with which Ala Kheir dresses his images, an initial sadness grips you.,
Perhaps his name is unknown to you. You will be excused. The little monarchs, surrounded by their minions, the Parisian galleries, like Magnin, have no curiosity for wonder. Moreover, their vocabulary has erased this word and they are ridiculously agitated around their plastic aperitifs. Rather than wasting time in these places, we met Ala Kheir and his black light.
The photographer is Soudanese, originally from Darfur and grew up in Khartoum. These are places full of meaning and history. By this, we must understand the vital need for image and empathy. Ala Kheir devotes a great deal of time to this feeling, empathy. He teaches the image, he makes it known and loved by children, in forgotten neighborhoods, in places deprived of galleries and social aperitifs. And then he takes pictures.
This image was taken in Addis Ababa precisely. "It is part of one of the last works of the photographer who endeavors to fix these urban mutations. Khartoum lived through tough economical times, and the booming center of the city now looks like a ghost town. Being in Addis Ababa on a trip from Khartoum, I see not only similarities, but continuity. Addis is slowly recovering as a city, and signs of hope is clear through the many scaffolding around the city." It's a dark morning. Another early hour, of which we do not know what will happen next. The scaffolding is huge and fragile. On other shots, silhouettes travel the abyssal verticals. It takes great courage to work on these modern pyramids, you have to have hunger in your stomach and eyes filled with clarity and life. These are qualities that the world would do well to relearn.
“In general, I generally connect more with the landscape. Whether inside a city, in the countryside or just on the road. I don't limit myself to a certain subject, but I had in mind to focus more on the transition. Khartoum and Addis Ababa are very different cities. But at the same time, if you travel a lot between two cities, the differences start to dissolve one way or another. You feel the connection in both places, and that's what I was trying to portray. » Ala Kheir
RC (ZO mag')
Photos: by courtesy A. Kheir
Ala Kheir — Réseau africain de photographie (africanphotographynetwork.org)
Landmarks :
Ala Kheir (born in 1985) is a Sudanese photographer. He started the photographic practice as a hobby while finishing a degree in mechanical engineering in 2005. Much of his work concerns the mutations of Karthoum, his hometown.
Ala Kheir currently runs TOV (The Other Vision, photography platform) where he continues his efforts for education, networking and awareness specifically for photographers and the general public in Sudan, and this in the perspective of a social engagement.
Exhibitions:
2017: Revisiting Khartoum, African capitals. France .
2016: Revisiting Khartoum, Dakar Biennale 2016. Senegal.
2015: Khartoum 2 Addis, Venice Biennale, Italy.
2014: Africa, Great Chance, Milan, Italy.
2012: Collective exhibition Frontières invisibles at the Addis Ababa photo festival.
Addis photo festival.
Khartoum (Sudan) (solo exhibition)
The un-governableس, collective exhibition, New York (USA).
2009: Feel the color, Khartoum, (co-exhibition with Dia Khalil).
2007: 50+1 Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur (group project).
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