Human Rights Day - Graphic Images by Chaz Maviyane

A dear friend of mine has produced these graphical images that shows how poignant life is. Chaz Maviyane is a Zimbabwean graphic artist now working as a Professor in the USA.

Review Strength of Feeling, Sokari Douglas Camp, New Art Exchange (Nottingham) Dec 08/Jan 09

REVIEW

Women warriors
fighters
protection
metal shields
disturbing situations
African revenge
spiritual presence
A voice

Title Guns Teasing Suicide

photography Vanley Burke

Sokari Douglas-Camp's sculptures are resonance of a woman’s voice and affirmation of a political struggle that echoes through her country of birth. Their spiritual presence of strong West African Women protesting against the injustices of man, not excluding the West’s appropriation of oil, leaving behind a painful background of oil flares burning in the delta regions of Nigeria; consequently destroying its environment and its community. This is not only a Nigerian experience but an experience throughout Africa, which in turn affects the world, but is often ignored. The fact that Douglas-Camp’s sculptures are a testament to Saro-Wiwa’s fight, a series of documentaries on Ken Saro-Wiwa, Fela Kuti, his son Femi Kuti and expressions by artists gave an important perspective into a political disturbance that is ongoing. This exhibition shows powerful and intricately worked metal sculptures.

Sokari Douglas Camp, Sculptures

Sometimes we can take for granted what we see ahead of us and it's impact may just last for a moment. My ideas sometimes emerge slowly and it may take a while before I realise that what I initially saw may not be a reflection of what is really there and this can be disturbing.

Photography Vanley Burke

The Pot

We shape clay into a pot
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want

Tao Te Ching

THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH

It is not your environment

It is not your history

It is not your education or ability

It is the quality of your mind that predicts

your future

Dr Benjamin Mays