Cover of the photobook of Lard Buurman, 2014.
REINVENTING REALITY
‘Africa Junctions. Capturing the City’ is a fascinating photobook by the Dutch photographer Lard Buurman. It contains a large selection of photos made in 14 African cities.
On first side they look like documentay pictures: people moving around in streets, on squares, on sidewalks etc. surrounded by buildings and traffic. Ordinairy urban daily life scenes.
But, they only look like that.
Buurman is questioning the truth of documentary images. His truth is created. He photographs locations and through the technique of photoshop he ‘puts’ people, passersby, in it. The location turns into a narrative. The reality becomes a story. Actors are performing on an urban stage. The story makes curious. The viewer wants to know what’s going on there. Did something happen? Did I miss something? His creativity is triggered.
By shooting this photos in Africa he also questions the cliché representation of that continent by many of his colleagues. Africa means hunger, death, sickness, violence, war. Through Buurman’s work it is possible to witness the other side of Africa. He manipulates the so called truth by creating a made up reality that seems more truthful.
In the book a number of articles and interviews take care of the background information of the project. Especially the introduction of the Senegalese critic N’Goné Fall is very informative. The interview Chris Keulemans had with Buurman gives a fascinating inside in his way of working, his motives, his ideas of photography in general.
The design is another reason to buy and enjoy this book.
RP
Africa Junctions. Capturing the City.
• Hardcover: 204 pages
• Publisher: Hatje Cantz (October 31, 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 377573791X
• ISBN-13: 978-3775737913
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9.8 x 0.9 inches
Amazon price: $47,22.
Copyright photos: Lard Buurman.