Ethiopia – East/West & Omo, John Kenny

Ethiopia can justifiably claim to be one of the most diverse countries on earth, both in terms of its geography and its cultural anthropology. I have a profound love for this country: I probably know it better than any other in Africa.

During this project I travelled from the baking Afar lowlands in the far east of the country to the humid forests of the far west, where groups including the Nuer from neighbouring Sudan have settled. Part II of my Omo Valley project is also found here.

 

Nadia Keena

While most travelers go to places in Ethiopia by plane from Addis Ababa , the capital, we chose to do it all by car.
It felt like we were traveling through the whole African continent due to the diversity of the sites and people we experienced.
These photos reflect the timelessness of all these places. Time has stood still in most parts of the country.
Locations: Lalibela, The Danakil depression, Konso, the Omo Valley, Hawassa and Addis Ababa.

I was born in Paris but have lived most of my life in Los Angeles, CA.

Omo: Expressions of a People, Drew Doggett

 I am captivated by stories, driven by the chase for extraordinary beauty and passionate about capturing each moment with integrity and inspiration. Searching for rarely seen subjects, I’ve traveled to remote corners of the world to chronicle people and places that are truly remarkable. Depicted in their natural environments, they are indigenous cultures and communities through a modern lens; scaled and crafted for the most compelling visual impact.

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Ethiopia’s sun-baked Omo Valley, an area recognized by scientists as the cradle of humankind, is home to a rich variety of semi-nomadic ethnic groups. Diverse in many respects but linked by their shared migration paths, these groups lead a way of life that is both colorful and austere. Herdsmen and their families keep cattle as they have for centuries, consuming just enough food to sustain themselves and sometimes enduring months of drought.

More than merely surviving in this unforgiving landscape, each group has stamped a richly unique identity onto it. This is a place of vibrant, age-old traditions. Elaborate communal rituals mark an adolescent’s passage into adulthood, and men and women alike ornament their bodies in strikingly beautiful ways. Bracelets, necklaces, and headdresses are treasured and worn with unabashed flair.  Moreover, beautification practices are encouraged as a way for an individual to establish his or her identity within the community. Scarring one’s arms or chest is a celebrated form of expression; men paint each other’s bodies for display and battle; rather than disapprove of a daughter’s lip piercing, a Suri mother is more likely to do it herself.

Physical attractiveness is held in extremely high regard. While its body-decorating methods are breathtakingly unique, Omo culture overlaps with classical ideals of beauty in its appreciation of the human form. By inviting comparisons with contemporary fashion imagery, Omo documents Doggett’s perspective on this shared aesthetic sensibility by highlighting form, style, and composition in an attempt to capture an idea of beauty that speaks not just to southern Ethiopia but to humanity at large.

Advancing technology, agricultural expansion, and other realities of globalization have reached the tribes of the Omo Valley and begun to alter their way of life. In exploring this area’s remarkable heritage, Omo: Expressions of a People aims to help viewers gain a new respect for the extraordinary diversity and precarious fate of traditional cultures around the world.

Ethiopia, Matthias Ziegler

Born in 1964 with a curious and sensitive eye for people, Matthias thoroughly learned his trade at Bayerische Lehranstalt fuer Fotografie in Munich.
Ever since he graduated in 1990, his reportages sent him travelling around the world. The results of these trips have been highly acclaimed, exhibited throughout Germany & Europe and awarded several times.
Matthias works for renowned publications such as STERN, SPIEGEL, Die ZEIT, SZ Magazin, Geo, Vogue, Vogue Italia, Greenpeace, GQ USA, etc.
His commissioned photography includes clients such as Bayerische Staatsforsten, Strellson Fashion, Fresenius Medical Care, Deutsche Bank, Egon Zehnder International, Ernst & Young & Thyssen Krupp.
Matthias lives in Munich and works everywhere.

Terri Gold