A series of photographs which dismantles stereotypes by documenting the actual realities of everyday life in Africa.
This picture book is a small window onto a large world. It shows everyday life in the most varied corners of the African continent, one that does not exist in the coverage provided by Western media. There is nothing spectacular or sensational about this everyday life, but it is always there. It is colorful and also banal, sometimes even contradictory, but it is always precious and genuine. In I love to dress like I am coming from somewhere and I have a place to go, Swiss photographer Flurina Rothenberger shows us a reality far from the usual stereotypes and clichés. Local and immediate, this project was made over the last ten years during the course of both personal and professional trips. Having grown up in West Africa, the artist is well aware of the ambiguities, mores, and specters of this vast continent and its 54 countries. In her sober portrayals of everyday life, whether she is quoting writers, activists, musicians, or economists, she provides an urgently needed contribution to how we view Africa–but not explicitly, and instead subtly. Because the African continent is itself subtle, hard to penetrate, and decidedly complex.
Awarded: “Most Beautiful Swiss Books 2015”.
Flurina Rothenberger (born 1977 in Switzerland) raised in Ivory Coast, West Africa. She studied at
Ecole cantonale d'Art de Lausanne and specialized in photography at Zurich University of the Arts. In addition to commissioned editorial assignments, her social documentary work is directed by research and self-initiated projects. She regularly returns to the African continent. Flurina Rothenberger is deeply convinced that how people want to be seen is always also an authentic reflection of the reality they live in. In her experience, the key to understanding a given context, lies in looking at the ordinary first before adressing a specific event. Both require time, trust and the will to be challenged.
