Hans Silvester’s photography is a vibrant plea for the diversity of the planet. Since the 1980s, tirelessly bearing witness to peoples or places threatened with extinction or grave changes has been at the heart of his work—major reportages and long-term projects on several continents. He became a member of the Rapho agency in 1965 and has been travelling Africa in search of little-known ethnic groups since 2000. In a practically inaccessible part of southern Ethiopia, he lived with a people called the Bench. ‘The Bench bear witness to an agro-pastoral civilisation that has lasted into the 21st century. Nobody has ever been interested in their beautiful frescoes and fascinating creativity although, to be fair, not a single road goes up into those mountains and it takes a long time to get there.’
EXHIBITION
In part of Les Rencontres d’Arles
The Bench
Hans Silvester
Mejan Association
From July 4th to August 28th, 2016
Chapelle du Mejan
13200 Arles
France
http://www.rencontres-arles.com
BOOK
The Bench
Hans Silvester
22 x 28 cm
250 pages
isbn : 978-2-330-06668-0
September 2016
39 euros
http://actes-sud.fr
