By Andrew Mulenga
“The evolution of photography and the history of
Zambia show some intriguing parallels, not only in their timelines but also in
the way they reflect moments in world history, their paths crossing in
extraordinary ways,” writes photographer and agriculturalist Peter Langmead in
the introductory remarks of his recently published documentary photography book
Postcards from Zambia.
There is a great deal to admire in the book, not least its effortless ability to seamlessly sweep across rural Zambia from Samfya to Mumbwa |
Dr Langmead, who studied photography before
working in Nigeria making photographs, film and video for agricultural
development projects, describes how a decade after David Livingstone became the
first European to set eyes on Mosi-oa-Tunya (Victoria Falls) in 1855, European
expeditionary photography took hold.
“The camera arrived in the geographic area now
called Zambia with David Livingstone’s brother Charles, the photographer on the
Royal Geographic Society’s (RGS) 1858-64 official British expedition to the
Zambezi led by David Livingstone. There is one surviving photograph of 40 by
Charles, a stereoscopic picture of a baobab, which is in the Livingstone
Museum”
Dr Langmead continues in part by stating that
although Charles Livingstone was required photograph ‘characteristic specimens
of different tribes’, this was difficult due to the lengthy exposure times of
early photography and the lack of familiarity local people had with having
their pictures taken.
He explains that the first attempt to photograph
Mosi-oa-Tunya was by adventurer James Chapman on an 1859-63 expedition but the
attempt failed and that the mighty water falls only had its first photograph
taken about 29 years later by William Ellerton Fry in 1892 as part of a
Colonial Office survey and this was 37 years after Livingstone’s first sighting
of the geographical feature.
Nevertheless, Dr Langmead’s 7-page explanatory text is in itself a short, well researched and riveting
colonial history lesson that also encompasses a brief history of photography
from a technological standpoint. This is broken down into six, titled segments
namely Discovery, Difference, Mass Tools, Theory and
Practice, Globalism, Technology and Social Change and A New Photographic response.
In the latter, Dr Langmead grapples with a debate
that was also tackled by British photographer David Bate in his 2009 book Photography, The Key Concepts.
“A common criticism of documentary photography is
that it ‘constructs a victim for its always privileged audience in terms of
class, ethnicity, gender or other social category, […] and the dignity of the
subject, […] is not guaranteed by any particular viewer,” writes Dr Langmead
echoing Bate “Just such a negative approach has misplaced aid and development
for many years and now there is a need for a new photographic response.”
He goes on further to emphasise that “in this
book, the motivation is to disrupt this cliché and show the subject not as a
victim but as a dignified participant in his or her own increasingly successful
economic environment.”
As well intentioned and pious as Dr Langmead’s
statement reads, flipping through the first few pages of the 77 or so black and
white photographs under the title The
People one cannot ignore the impression that some of the photos have the
almost voyeuristic feeling of National Geographic-type exoticism towards none-western
people.
This can be seen in many ‘face-to-the-camera’
portraits that feature different aspects of rural life in Zambia. Typical is A working man, Mumbwa, which shows the
wind-beaten and sun-dried face of a man who appears to be older than he may
actually be but, the lines on his face show that hardships seem to have gotten
the best of him. Then there is Licensed
wild honey hunter, Itezhi-Tezhi, which shows a young man in front of a
village hut proudly brandishing the K20 (twenty kwacha) cash sale receipt that
will allow him to collect honey for two weeks. A rice grower and his son in
Lambwe Chomba, shows an elderly man in an oversized shirt standing in a field
with a youth by his side, both face the camera in poses that make them look
ridiculous if one was to be frank. Clearing
a bit of forest for his farm, is the portrait of a weathered elderly man in
a tattered baseball cap, soiled shirt and tattered pinstripe jacket.
Looking at these images, which are just a few
among many, one finds it difficult to describe the subjects as dignified
participants in their “own increasingly successful economic environment.”
Almost to the contrary, the photographer tries to capture and encapsulated in
his subjects some sort of primitiveness.
But perhaps these are reasonably inconsequential
details and to a great extent matters of individual interpretation. It would be
interesting, however, to see the reaction to this book from the rapidly
increasing Café-type urban Zambians who are likely to have easier acces to it
but to a large degree seem to have been left out.
Certainly one of the most welcome aspects of the
book is Dr Langmead’s commitment to the documentation of excessive
deforestation due to charcoal burning. He dedicates about twelve pages
including the cover to it. Charcoal:
livelihoods or deforestation? Is a
portrait that speaks volumes, it shows an evidently well-sustained rural woman
(not in tatters) standing in front of her trading depot with dozens of charcoal
sacks fading into the background. This is followed by Depleted Miombo Forest and An
executioner cuts down the tree, all of which speak for themselves.
Anyhow, there is a great deal to admire in the
book, not least its effortless ability to seamlessly sweep across rural Zambia
from Samfya to Mumbwa, from Itezhi-Tezhi
to Chipata and so on. As a coffee table book, the 17cm x 17cm publication is likely to give city dwelling
Zambians as well as foreign tourists a deeper glance at Zambia as they peruse
through its 95 pages.
“In addition to targeting a local readership, Postcards from Zambia
also provides a snapshot of life in Zambia for those less familiar with the
country, whether tourists, business visitors or overseas observers. As such, it
makes an ideal platform to showcase the country for the United Nation World
Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) General Assembly in August,” reads the electronic
press release in part.
And the brief text on the back reads “This
collection of photographs reflects aspects of life and society in Zambia with
the aim of inspiring current and future generations of documentary
photographers”. Postcards from Zambia is published by Langmead & Baker Ltd, it is now available
in leading bookstores around Zambia and can be purchased in the United Kingdom at
www.amozon.co.uk.
Dr
Langmead has also spent time in South East Asia and later studied for a PhD in
finance. By 1993 he had obtained a farm in Zambia where he returned after his
Asian excursion as a business development consultant.
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