Imagine a life without photos

Unfortunately in recent years during our hot summers, mass amounts of land have been plagued by fire. Raging fires have taken houses and people in their destructive path. I have noticed on TV when residents are being interviewed whilst they are in the midst of evacuating their threatened homes, they always seem to say ‘The first thing I started to pack were the photos’. 

A Photo is visual evidence of a moment occurring. Seeing a photo gives you the visual spark to relive that moment or try to position yourself there at that time. 

When I was younger, I was so frustrated that my parents didn’t bring any photos with them from Ghana or Nigeria. They didn’t seem to understand why it was so important to me. 

For me, in my head it was as if my parents had no history. They told me stories of when they were younger, but to me they were just stories with no depth. That notion changed when I to Ghana with my parents for the first time. My Mum was rummaging through my Grandmother’s things and she found a tattered photo album. What she really found was the history I had been longing for. The proof that my mum was once my age, proof that she actually went clubbing (She would say the word ‘disco’, but I beg to differ) and proof that her and her family lived through the 1970s. My Mum finally understood why I was so set on seeing old family photos. And now the album is in my house!

I was very moved when I read about Liberia 77 project on AFRICA IS A COUNTRY. It reinforces why photographs are so important. Jeff Topham and his brother Andrew lived in Liberia in the 70s. Their father worked for a Canadian company which made explosives for the Liberian mining industry. During their time in Liberia, their father took many photos documenting the family’s life, the people and the country. Thirty years later the brothers return to Liberia to revisit their childhood. What becomes clear is that their father’s photos are more than just visual memories, but evidence of what Liberia was before the war. 

On the wish of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf urging people to dig out their photos and contribute to building a collection for the National Museum of Monrovia with the help of Liberia 77. 

They say a picture can translate into 1000 words. Retelling events of the past verbally, may bring unwanted emotions, but with a picture, no words need to be said. A picture translates into all languages!

Photography is connection.

Photography is life.

Photography is history.

– LIBERIA 77

SOURCE: AFRICA IS A COUNTRY & LIBERIA 77