Reviews

Harry Hook: About Africa - Review

Posted on: 2016-09-30

Harry Hook is currently on tour and quite a few shows to go - I am so glad I didn't miss this one.

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I didn't really know what to expect when I volunteered to review this evening at Bristol's Redgrave Theatre. I knew two things; the first being I love photography. The depiction of landscape and the capture of light and that vivid moment when magic happens fascinates me and as an avid amateur photographer myself I felt I could pick up a few tips from an established professional. The second being, as a scatterling of Africa, and Africa being the subject matter, I wanted to see and experience the view of Africa from someone else's point of view. 

 

With no pompous furor or trepidation, Harry Hook took to the stage to begin his presentation. To me this was quite surprising. I say surprising as a part of showmanship one does expect a theme or some form of entrance music to begin a show or presentation. But this was done with such great humility and verve it more or less set the tone for the evening. 

I am quite fond of depictions of Africa. As an African myself I am quite proud of its diversity its rich culture and with over 2000 local languages spoken and covering 20% of the earth's land mass. It is very hard to miss and for anyone who ever has been, its quite unforgettable. Harry began the night by explaining the reason behind his photographs. To my exclamation he grew up in Africa, his father was a military man and was stationed in Sudan and once he retired his family moved to Kenya, where his mother was born and most of his extended family lived. Harry began by recounting fond memories of his Uncle Raymond who had a pet viper, which puzzled me as Africans are not very fond of snakes but I guess this added to the hilarity of the story told evident by the rapturous laughter after. He explained that the title of the book 'About Africa' had been chosen on purpose, as there was no specific ideology to it and anyone could put a verb in front of the title, but he didn't want the book to be like that but to be taken as is. He wanted the book to reflect the spirit and energy and innocence of the subject matter and people in the photographs.

 

He got his first camera at a very young age and its at this point his love affair began.I say love affair because because although we may argue with our wives or loved ones we would never speak a bad word to or of them and this you could certainly see through the photographs taken. 

Making this book required extensive travel as he explained that certain plateaus were the size of Wales. Not sure why he or anyone chooses Wales to measure against but I guess its would be to reflect the magnitude of the distance covered and the task undertaken. I feel this was done on purpose to ensure that the vast landscape he covered was ingrained in the audiences mind and that it wasn't like taking a trip to Tesco and setting up a mobile studio.

 

Harry expressed his concerns of the changing landscape of Africa; specifically the draw of the city with urban/rural migration on the rise. Most of these changes have been brought on by economic needs and the want of a salary and wage. His pictures not only showed the changes in social attitude and loss of innocence but the vulnerability where tradition was facing an uncertain future. He drew upon and explained the factors associated with this change. Some being past colonialism and present politics and some who may act under marginalised bigotry. For instance, a clip was shown where travelling cattlemen washed their hair with cattle urine to make their hair red. This was quite an eyeful to say the least, but having grown up and having the ideals of a homogenised urban culture, I could see why this affected the audience they way it did.

 

Here's the trailer for his latest work on returning to Africa:

 

Harry's book is powerful in that it creates an insight into the ever changing face of Africa and and how the past is trying marry itself with the present. This was particularly shown when Harry played excerpts of his BBC4 Documentary, though unfortunately I missed the title if it was mentioned. In 1984 he had taken photographs of five young women and had then gone to look for them 30 years later. He did manage to find Nditho Likhosoli and Mary Lesupai and when each were interviewed and asked they both preferred the present to the past. This clearly showed that although the legacy and embodiment of an ideal is essential it is always open to ridicule and progression. This work encases that in a very vivid way.

 

This is a celebration of Africa, its people, its culture and its revolution. There is a high level of humility in its approach but the images are powerful and dynamic and their depictions are agonisingly close to reality. Harry Hook is currently on tour and quite a few shows to go - I am so glad I didn't miss this one.

5/5

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