Museum of the Revolution (2019) by Guy Tillim
Published by MACK & Foundation Henri Cartier-Bresson
From 2014 – 2018, South African photographer Guy Tillim took long walks through fourteen African cities, compiling an expansive collection of street photography. Each image is simply titled with the location – some including the street name – the city and the year. We, the viewer, are left to decipher the cacophony of information presented within each vista.
The series takes its title from the Museum of Revolution on the Avenida 24 Julho, Maputo, a post-colonial capital which has seen much conflict, two major revolutions and a civil war ending as recently as 1992. Street names have changed and buildings once owned by the Portuguese now belonging to the state remain. As silent spectators, they observe the passing changes in the political, social and economic climate. Layers of history are built in the form of bricks and mortar, yet the people that remain give each city its life.
There are several inclusions from 2012, incorporating the Independence Day celebrations in Gabon. These street photographs show the festive side of a city; with grand cars, military and bodyguards dominating the Boulevard de l’Independence in Libreville with an imposing display of authority and power.
Copyright ⓒ GUY TILLIM
Diptychs and triptychs cast a wider eye across the cityscapes on streets and junctions, revealing more populated cross sections of the same location. Tillim shifts the camera from one viewpoint to another, joining them together to create a scene that gives the illusion of continuity. Each section of the picture reveals its own narrative as if it is all happening at the same time. They may only be taken seconds or minutes apart but create a more occupied landscape with each addition. Tillim was surprised as to how much passers-by ignored him despite often standing in the middle of the pavement with a tripod. His ambiguity is occasionally questioned by approaching pedestrians, sometimes with a smile, at other times with a frown, giving a sense of ease or suspicion so commonplace in any city anywhere in the world.
There are tangible contrasts from place to place throughout. The crumbling buildings lining the streets of Addis Ababa being demolished by men with sledgehammers alongside street vendors and traffic seem distinctly fragile. Whereas the manicured grass area and palm tree-lined Avenida 4 Fevereiro in Luanda, Angola is overlooked by immaculate architecture and skyscrapers, feeling distinctly unappealing, sanitised and unreal. From two women laughing together on a busy to a billboard projecting the stuff of dreams, all gleam under the bright sunshine. Like the sun which can crack the pavement or illuminate the life it surrounds, we are reminded that a city is a place where life can both flourish and struggle. Each city and its people are photographed with respect and reverence in an even-handed way. Tillim’s street photography captures the true essence of the genre in all of its glory.
Copyright ⓒ GUY TILLIM
Copyright ⓒ GUY TILLIM
Copyright ⓒ GUY TILLIM
MUSEUM OF THE REVOLUTION (2019) by Guy Tillim, £30, is published by MACK and can be purchased from MACK BOOKS
To learn & see more about Laura Noble visit L A Noble Gallery
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