Judith Quax presents ‘Presence in Absence’ at GRID Cape Town Biennial, Castle of Good Hope, Cape Town, until March 15, 2015.
About Presence in Absence:
‘Presence in Absence’ is a reality that many migrants and their families are facing in both Europe and Africa. Families are being separated for many years and as a result of undocumented status often not capable to travel back.
People are holding on to memories, tangible in the form of photos; carried with them or present in the privacy and intimacy of their (bed-)rooms. Photos of their family as well as of spiritual leaders, like from the Mouridism brotherhood of Serigne Touba.
A reality of the migration phenomenon is people who are dying in their attempt to reach Europe. I have photographed migrants graves along the beaches of Senegal, from Dakar up north to Saint Louis at the border with Mauritania.
about:
My work is driven by a fascination for the concept of identity and how identity is constantly evolving.
How do people adapt to a nomadic and trans-national life? How do they relate to their changing
environment? How do they deal with the tension between the memory of the homeland and the reality
of the new life in another country?
In this research on the universal motives of people I use photography, video, found footage, texts
and installations.
Quax is a freelance Dutch photographer working in Africa a lot.
Copyright photos: Judit Quax