My earliest memories are of spinning a globe. I was always drawn to the last mysterious corners of the world. I am interested in exploring the rituals that lend meaning to people’s lives. I am looking for the grace notes, for the sense of wonder in our world and in our connections to each other. We are still and still moving.
From the beginning of my career I was looking for a medium that could portray the world how I experienced it, with all its mysteries. My search led to infrared photography. There is a haunting quality to the invisible, iridescent world of infrared light that touches another dimension, which exists just beyond what our eyes can see.
Indigenous cultures are disappearing. At risk is a vast archive of knowledge and expertise. Ethiopia’s Omo Valley is thought of as the birthplace of humankind, and is home to various ethnic groups, whose time-honored traditions and elaborate rituals dignify survival in a challenging landscape.
With globalization comes the push of technology into once isolated areas such as the Omo, threatening to forever alter the old ways. What is the value of these ancient practices? What becomes of us when the myriad voices of indigenous people have fallen silent? I am interested in the debate between the old and the new. What will be discarded and what will be treasured?
Terri Gold
