Isabel Munoz

The enigmatic peoples of the surma life in the south of Ethiopia, due to their geographical isolation, they are able to maintain a unique and rich culture, living in a half nomadic existence in an almost terrestrial paradise. This proud people have a great sense for beauty and expression, their creativity shows itself in the intricate designs with which they – especially the men – decorate their own bodies to attract the other sex, for ceremonies and especially for the stick fighting donga, the foundation for complex and competitive social structure where the aim is to establish a champion or the encouragement of a collective hostility before attacking an enemy tribe. Married woman wear impressive big lip plates where the size is related to wealth.

Their traditional values by are threatened our days by the Presbyterian Church who tries to mission the people. This aggressive church is heavy supported by the Bush administration who is aim is to impose western values in order to control the last white spots in the Earth.

Another thread are the arms dealers travelling in the horn of Africa trading Kalashnikovs for cattle so that every little conflict can end in a human disaster.

Urs Albrecht

Nota: Prints in platinum are considered as the summit of photographic work. Their traditional and costly procedure is only done by a very small number of photographers. The platinum print allows deep blacks and a very rich variety of warm greys or sepia tones; because the solution of platinum enters in the paper instead of laying on the surface as in other procedures the image becomes an integrated part of the paper itself. Platinum prints are mostly printed on high quality paper and are of exceptional stability, prints of the size larger than 100 cm are extremely difficult to produce, these platinum prints on the scale up to 110 cm are the first ever produced.

Pressetext

Isabel Munoz: SURMA PEOPLE >ETHIOPIA