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Jason Florio |
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MAKASUTU |
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Mecca In The Forest |
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March 20 - May 15, 2004 |
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While photographing in a number of developing countries I observed that,
often foreign owned hotels and resorts were using the cheap local labor pool
and returning little to the local community. With tourism having become a
significant economic force for many countries around the globe, there is
often a relatively small monetary trickle down to the communities, even with
the flow of heavy tourist dollars into the country. For many communities I
was also witnessing the adverse effects of tourism – the watering down of
local culture and the breakdown of family units due to urban drift to work
in tourist areas. Over the years my work has been concentrated not so much
on the big news stories but more about creating a vista into small
communities and groups who are truer reflection of the world than
sensational news hits. So, I was intrigued by a phone call from a friend in
1997 who told me about a sustainable eco tourism project he was involved
with in Africa. I was on a plane a few months later to the tiny West African
Republic of The Gambia – specifically to a 250 acre area of bush called
Makasutu, where the eco lodge would be built. Working mainly with an 8x10
camera I started to document the people who lived and worked around
Makasutu. Rather than working in the traditional 35mm documentary style, I
felt the large format camera to be a way for the subjects to be more
involved in the photographic process. Over the following eight years
(returning annually) I have continued to work in the same manner. Although
the style of the portraits has not changed over the years, I feel they
quietly reflect the positive impact that Makasutu, as a sustainable tourism
project, has had on the area.
Over the past 10 years the Atlantic coastline of The Gambia has become a popular destination for Europeans looking for a cheap sun and sea package holidays – and as with some other developing world tourist destinations such as Thailand and Cambodia, it gained a reputation for sex tourism – especially with white European females. Because of the high unemployment rate and often only the chance for seasonal work, many Gambians are willing to up-root themselves from traditional village life to work for low wages at the coastal tourist resorts. |
Urban drift around the globe is causing significant impact on rural life –
but with projects such as Makasutu where locals can earn a living wage,
learn new skills and where craftsmen can utilize their traditional skills,
locals have more of a choice - family life is kept intact and traditional
ways can be continued. For a country such as The Gambia, which is relatively
new to tourism, sustainable tourism projects can play a significant part in
what happens to the infrastructure of communities. Gambians live in family
compounds, and with the high unemployment rate, one person who works, may
support ten or more others in the compound. Given this, the 200 employees of
Makasutu are potentially supporting 1800 to 2000 additional people. The
project also encourages local villagers who are not employed directly by the
lodge to utilize the land for traditional purposes such as palm wine tappers
(who climb the 60ft palm trees to collect sap for fermentation into an
alcoholic drink), as well as oyster collectors who harvest the oysters from
the branches of the mangroves that cover the banks of the river.
The Makasutu portraits are a document of a traditional community that continues to thrive and move forward, but maintains the integrity of traditional life in the face of modernization.
Jason Florio 2005 |
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Jason Florio is a British photojournalist who has been based in New York City for the past ten years. Initially coming to New York to shoot fashion, he soon found his interest in humanitarian issues taking over. Temporarily relocating to Bangkok in 1998 he started his career as photojournalist working for a Brazilian daily covering Thailand, Cambodia and Burma. Since then he has worked in countries including, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, India, Cuba, Mexico, Senegal, The Gambia, Iraq and Libya. Last year he was awarded a grant to shoot the first ever assigned story in Aperture’s fifty year history - “This is Libya”. His work has been published globally in such magazines as The New Yorker, Talk, Orion, Newsweek, Liberation, The Globe and Mail, The Times of London, Colors, W, GQ , Geographical, Amnesty Now, amongst others. He has also worked as a cinematographer on the documentaries “Until The Violence Stops” and the soon to be released “The Eyes of Faith”. His work has been exhibited in a number of solo and group shows in the USA and is in the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Museum of Art. All print inquires should be directed to
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Sponsors |
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Photography series
curated by Michelle
Jackson |
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Previous exhibitions at The Half King For further information on these exhibits, please go here.
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