Stirring Stillness: The Pulse of West Africa

Stirring Stillness was inspired by an underlying power, a vibration or pulse that I experienced in West Africa. Whether beneath the chaos of a busy marketplace or in the stillness of a solitary baobab tree, I could feel something constantly stirring, a sort of magical undercurrent so rarely sensed in life back home.

In West Africa, the line between the tangible and spiritual worlds are blurred.  Definitive notions of truth can be elusive. Art and the rest of life are one rather than separated. Life is raw.  People are animated and expressive. Culture runs deeply with strong, time-honored traditions. Yet life is fresh and balanced with creativity and spontaneity.  Take a moment and look beyond the surface.  Let the rhythm stir in you.

These photographs were taken with respect and by permission. The series was taken with 35mm film and was hand-printed using an original development technique I created through experimentation in the darkroom.