Mireia Cano’s photographs capture daily life on the Ethiopian riverbank
CAIRO: When the Fables of the Nile expedition set out to follow the Blue Nile from its source in Ethiopia through Sudan and on to Egypt, the photographer Mireia Cano joined them for the beginning of their journey from Lake Tana to Debre Markos. Armed with a camera, she set out to chronicle the daily lives of the people who inhabit the banks of the Nile.
“The Nile River gives a lot of magic to the area, Cano says of the scenic Amharic highlands of Ethiopia. Her photographs of the vast landscape – which seems virtually unspoiled – are awe-inspiring.
A gentle branch of the river appears to suddenly gain strength as it plunges over a sharp cliff. In contrast, the surrounding countryside is placid, as if subservient to the eminence of the river that runs through it. This is a photograph of the Blue Nile Falls, or Tis Isat, which translates as “smoke of fire.
With the expedition, Cano veers from the river and explores the mountain life. “All along the way there are scattered villages of cone-shaped huts, where life seems to have remained unchanged for millennia, she describes.
According to Cano, the people that live in this region are called “The guardians of the source of the Nile River. The river is born here, and gives life to everything in its surroundings, and the people rely on the Nile for almost every aspect of their livelihood, explains the photographer.
“It is my hope that these photographs may help enrich the visual imagery the general public has of Ethiopia, writes Cano. In an attempt to capture their lives accurately, she portrays them in their homes, preparing food and harvesting.
The photographs, on display in The American University of Cairo’s informal Sony Gallery of Photography (now located in a hallway above Ewart Hall on the main campus), make a personal impact on the viewer. In most of her portraits, Cano’s camera seems to talk to her subjects, and they are looking directly at the lens to respond. At times, it even looks like they’ve been interrupted, stopping what they are doing to talk to her.
The exhibition straddles visual art and a photographic documentary. The pendulum swings between the breathtaking images, and the creative perspective in some of her photographs – notably an image of a shadow of a man walking with a stick cast on a mud brick wall – and the more clinical images of students at a secondary school facing a plasma screen during a lecture held via satellite. In this sense, the exhibition has a split personality.
In addition, the images are subject to personal interpretation. While I described the portrait of a man in a “sunset turban as having a sinister smile, the photographer explained that she had met up with him while he was harvesting his crops and was touched by his generosity as he welcomed the expedition, offering them food.
“For me, explains Cano, “the whole point [of the exhibition] is to show the hospitality of the [Ethiopian] people. Wherever we went, people were very welcoming. I’d dare to say they are the most hospitable people in the world. And how can you argue with someone who has traveled so extensively around the world?
Often represented by images of warlords, famine-struck children and harsh living conditions, Ethiopia is “misunderstood as poor, says Cano. “But really they are rich in terms of culture and tradition.
Though Cano’s work serves only as a brief glimpse into that richness, hardly enough to counteract all the negative images that have plagued the media in recent years, it is heartfelt.
Originally from Barcelona, Spain, Cano moved to London in 1998, where she studied development and refugee studies. Upon realizing the power of visual representation and the impact it could have in her field of studies, she took photography courses at Zoom In Photography and City and Islington College. Blue Nile is her first photographic exhibition.
She dedicates the exhibition to “Ethiopia for its beauty and hospitality, to its people who generously cared for us along the way, and above all to those Ethiopian refugees who were forced to flee their homes; they should be embraced wherever they go. Cano’s photographs are on sale (for LE 200 each), and the total profits of the pictures sold will be donated to an emergency fund for Ethiopian refugees in Cairo.
Blue Nile: From Lake Tana to Debre MarkosThe Sony Gallery of PhotographyThe American University in Cairo, Main CampusDowntown, Cairo
The exhibition will run until October 18, daily from 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
