Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
- An insider tale of Islamic countries with an oniric point of view through the circus worldGerman photographer Johanna-Maria Fritz travels all over the world photographing people and communities, especially in war zones in the Middle East. This book is the second in a poignant series on the circus in Muslim countries. She began this series over five years ago and published that work in her 2017 book, Like a Bird. Circus continues that project with images taken between 2017 and the present. Her work will be on display this summer at the annual photography festival in Arles. "For Like a Bird I traveled to many Islamic countries. I was especially curious about the role of women in circus life and the environment the circus is based in - thankfully I was able to get access to the female culture in conservative societies like Iran and Afghanistan as I am myself a woman. With my work I pursue the object of overcoming prejudices and show how small communities are able to function in these conservative or conflict-ridden countries. I direct a spectator's view to different worlds: The one of the circus as well as the society surrounding it and how the social fabric of the circus influences the outside and gets influenced itself in reverse." - Johanna-Maria Fritz
Synopsis
-These photographs address the condition of Africans migrants in the Mediterranean through the historical figure of Benedict the Moor, or Binidittu, a 16th century Afro-Sicilian friar who became the first black saint in history Saint Benedict the Moor, or Binidittu as the Sicilians fondly rechristened him, was an Afro-Sicilian hermit friar, the son of African slaves born in Sicily in the 16th century. Canonized in 1807, he was the Catholic Church's first Black saint and was made Patron Saint of Palermo. These photographs address the lives of African migrants in the Mediterranean today through the historical figure of Binidittu. This project retraces his improbable life, explores the historical sites of his hagiography, the worship of relics, and the religious and secular practices devoted to him in Sicily and elsewhere in the Mediterranean. This book is part of Lo Calzo's longterm photographic project, Cham, about the living memories of colonial slavery and anti-slavery struggles. "Binidittu emerges in this work as an allegory of our time: an encounter between the Mare Nostrum and the world, between oblivion and memory, between racism made commonplace and our shared humanity, between the Sicilian people's aspirations and African migrants' hopes of freedom and dignity as they drift towards Europe's shores." Nicola lo Calzo