I Am Slave

I'm miffed that I missed this drama when TV's Channel 4 aired it in August last year, as part of their series on modern-day slavery and human trafficking. But I got another chance to see it on the Community Channel this evening and slapped myself when I discovered that it had been available on Channel 4 OD all along. Programmes on Channel 4 OD are geo-blocked, so you probably won't be able to see it on that site unless you're within the UK. This film is well worth searching for though, if you can find it elsewhere..

And although I'm somewhat late, I've been tripping on this totally amazing, albeit quietly disturbing drama that is based on a true story, starring the extremely talented British-Nigerian actor Wunmi Mosaku who plays Malia, a Sudanese princess from the Nuba Mountains. As a child she is abducted from her family and kept as a slave for six years in northern Africa, before she is sent to London where her misery continues.

And all this while, over a period of many years her devoted father (played by Ivorian actor Isaach de Bankole) from whose hands she was snatched by her abductors, searches tirelessly for her. The saga finally ends when after all her tribulations Malia manages to escape from her oppressors. Father and daughter eventually make contact, even if only tenuous contact by telephone. Some of the others in the cast are Nonso Anozie and Lubna Azabal.

This look at modern-day slavery is directed by Gabriel Range. It is strikingly photographed and very well acted. I do however think that the story told is sketchy, and that since the subject is of such a serious nature, it might have worked better had there been more detail to it. A clip can be seen on the BBC website here and Mosaku and the film's writer Jeremy Brock are interviewed.

The Telegraph offers a great review here. You can also see The Guardian newspaper here in an in-depth commentary on how domestic workers become slaves in the UK. It is believed that there are up to 5,000 people in the UK who are being kept as slaves.

On that Ship in a Bottle

Since I heard that Anglo-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare's artwork was the next commission for the Fourth Plinth at London's Trafalgar Square, I've been itching to go and see it. It was entirely impossible during the week, I simply could not squeeze out any daylight time to visit Trafalgar Square and yesterday was a typical bank-holiday-weekend Saturday, since it rained all day.

This morning I was on my way to church, but I made a detour and drove to Westminster with my fingers crossed, in the hope that I might find a place to park in order that I would physically walk onto the Trafalgar Square itself, take a close-up look at the artwork and perhaps take some photos too. But this was not to be. It's interesting how on Sundays everybody in London suddenly becomes a tourist, especially when the sun is out. First of all, even those astronomical Westminster Council parking charges don't deter visitors, so of course there was nowhere to park. Then the crowds! Right before my eyes as I sat in gridlocked traffic, I could see the mass of humanity emerging from the Underground and everywhere else heading towards the square.

I soon realised that there was no hope at all that I would accomplish my mission and still make it in time to church. So I pulled out the camera as I sat, and took photos of the artwork while struggling to maintain control of the car. The photos I've posted are the best ones.

What is important about this artwork is that it is the first commission on the Fourth Plinth to address the historical symbolism of Trafalgar Square. Trafalgar Square was built in the 1840s to commemorate the death of the great Admiral Horatio Nelson at the famous Battle of Trafalgar. Atop the tallest structure in the square is a statue of Nelson himself and this structure is known as Nelson's Column.

Within a shell of thick glass, Shonibare's ship is intended to depict Admiral Nelson's ship, HMS Victory, but the 37 sails of the ship-in-the-bottle are made of richly patterned traditional West African fabric, textiles that are commonly associated with African dress and symbolic of African identity and independence. According to the Fourth Plinth commissioners, "the history of the fabrics reveals that they were inspired by Indonesian batik design, mass produced by the Dutch and sold to the colonies in West Africa. The work therefore deals with the complexity of British expansion in trade and Empire, made possible through the freedom of the seas that Nelson's victory provided."

This is the first work of public art by an African artist prominently displayed in a public place in the United Kingdom. When asked how he managed to get the ship inside the bottle, Shonibare would not tell. The work was sponsored by Guaranty Trust Bank, a Nigerian Bank.

Great stuff, Steve Bloom..

I've recently become a fan of Steve Bloom, a "writer and a photographic artist who specialises in evocative images of the living world. Born in South Africa in 1953, he first used the camera to document life in South Africa during the apartheid years. He moved to England in 1977 and co-founded one of London's leading photographic special effects companies."

I stumbled upon this image, which is speculated to be the "world's widest panoramic photograph.." and parts of an interview of Mr Bloom by the BBC, where he talked about his new book, Trading Places: The Merchants of Nairobi

On how he took this photograph, Mr Bloom states: "I started at the Hilton Hotel at the far end on the right, and moved along to the Jeddy Hair Salon, taking a photograph every four paces. I used a 50mm lens, which approximates the field of view of the human eye for the 35mm film format, and a small aperture to maximise focus. The resulting images are painstakingly stitched together. As the eye moves along the photograph, the viewpoint changes continually, as if the viewer is physically moving down the road. Because we read the image from left to right, the viewer goes backwards in time through a period of about forty-five minutes. Some of the traders such as the knife sharpener, are seen repeatedly going through their business in different parts of the road at different times. This image opposes the 'decisive moment' approach to photography and is more cinematic in its structure."

I understand that in the book, this image stretches across the title page and sixteen pages of the introduction. When printed, the print is about 40 metres long. Pretty amazing..

The Majorelle Gardens

I used a photograph of these lovely gardens on the front page of my blog and I thought the least I could do is to share some information about the place. The Majorelle Garden is a botanical garden in Marrakech, Morocco. The garden was designed in 1924 by Frenchman Jacques Majorelle (1886-1962) during the colonial period when Morocco was a protectorate of France. The special shade of bold cobalt blue used extensively in the garden is named after him bleu Majorelle.

In 1980 the famous French fashion icon Yves Saint-Laurent and his lifelong partner Pierre Bergé acquired the gardens. After Yves Saint-Laurent died in 2008 his ashes were scattered in the Majorelle Garden. His partner Bergé said during the funeral service: “But I also know that I will never forget what I owe you, and that one day I will join you under the Moroccan palms". The gardens have been open to the public since 1947.

The garden also houses the Islamic Art Museum of Marrakech, whose collection includes North African textiles from Saint-Laurent's personal collection as well as ceramics, jewelry, and paintings by Majorelle. The garden hosts more than 15 bird species, which can be found only in this area of North Africa. There is an extensive array of images of this wonderful place to be found on the Internet. Examples are here and here.

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