Paul Solberg - Ten Years in Pictures, Lifetimes in Print.
Ten Years in Pictures, Paul Solberg’s fifth photographic compendium, is a catalogue of ethnographic encounters with a startling diversity of artistic topography; drawing together sepia sailors, haunted soldiers, priests, Wild West horses, flower petals and Ai Weiwei that have gathered together in his lens across the years.
Ten Years in Pictures, Paul Solberg’s fifth photographic compendium, is a catalogue of ethnographic encounters with a startling diversity of artistic topography; drawing together sepia sailors, haunted soldiers, priests, Wild West horses, flower petals and Ai Weiwei that have gathered together in his lens across the years.
From Vietnam to Cairo to Sicily to Jordan, the book reads as a world portrait where the parts make up the whole but each part stands alone with a poetic, poignant, potency. Solberg hones in on the intricacies in his anthropological portraits; choosing to capture the subtler details of expression of culture and humanity. Instead of cataloguing these subjects with a flat, documentary, objectivity, he infuses these details with a joy, a poignancy and a simple reflectiveness. Through his photographs, we see “a world in which Solberg lives, and wishes we could all live”. There is a sense of standing in the shoes of Solberg when looking at his photographs; seeing the subject through not only his lens, but his eyes; with a universal awe and wonder. The Moholy—Nagy-new-vision approach reframes his scenes and subjects from an alternative angle; encouraging us too to look on anew and afresh with, and through his hungry, curious eyes. Life and art bleed, indeed - previous to his prestigious photographic publishings in Interview, the Wall Street Journal, Conde Nast Traveler, and CNN Travel, Solberg studied anthropology at university in South Africa before travelling extensively throughout South Africa, South America and Asia. These early formative experiences fostered his fascination for the forms of the world, and the influence is evident throughout.
Ten Years in Pictures. © Paul Solberg
What book are you reading now?
Africa Writes, the Royal African Society’s annual festival of books and literature which showcases established and emerging literary talent from Africa and the Diaspora, is back for its fourth year running this summer at the British Library.
As the saying goes there’s a book in everyone of us waiting to jump out. But not everyone could be Oscar Wild. That’s a relief I hear you cry! Here comes support Africa Writes, the Royal African Society’s annual festival of books and literature which showcases established and emerging literary talent from Africa and the Diaspora, is back for its fourth year running this summer (from Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th July) at the British Library.
Hannah Pool by Michael Leckie
The 2015 festival guarantees to bring together over 50 novelists, poets, publishers, translators, critics and other thespians in the world of African literature to open up the continent’s fertile literary terrain. The footnotes reads like so: “This year’s festival will once again present a unique opportunity for our audiences to engage with their favourite African writers and books, and to discover new ones through our exciting programme”.
Ben Okri, publisher's photo
The festival would also feature book launches, readings, author appearances, panel discussions, youth and children’s workshops. Amongst this year’s headline draw are Nigerian-born Ben Okri, Booker prize-winning author and one of the most known and respected of African writers. Okri will be discussing his extensive range of literary work of 10 novels, including the Booker winner The Famished Road. And the controversial Journalist, author and commentator Eritrean-born Hannah Pool, hosting an evening of books and inspiration, when a selection of writers and personalities will share with the audience their favourite African books, varying between classics all through to their latest published work?
The festival will feature 13 sessions - both free and paid for. However, two sessions stands out for me: Firstly, “Emergent Discourses on African Literature” (Free); because it deals with homogeneity, how publishers treat African writers as one and the same, ignoring the wide diversity of written and oral literature stemming from the continent and the diaspora. This session will feature presentations by PhD students and other researchers who are exploring different areas of this field of study - from the development of post-colonial literature through to present-day African narratives and the changing landscape of the publishing industry.
The second session that stands out for me is “Meet the Publishers”. A recently published study titled “What Happened” commissioned by the writer development agency “spread the word” to look into diversity in publishing, revealed that Black and Asian authors in Britain are being ‘shoehorned’ by a predominantly white publishing industry into writing fictions that conforms to a stereotypical view of their communities. This session, “Meet the Publishers”, is apt as it is for unpublished writers of African origin to present their work to different publishing houses, to discuss what they look for when considering new work, share the do's and don’ts of pitching and other insider tips, and get professional feedback on the spot.
The organisers maintain that they deem it fit to organise a fourth because last year’s Africa Writes attracted over 1,500 attendees – many of whom had not attended Africa Writes (77%) or visited the British Library (28%) before. And now with over 30 sessions they are hoping for a record breaking attendance for 2015.
Royal African Society, 36 Gordon Square, London WC1H 0PD