‘Africa is a Great Country’

Arts Correspondent
The National Gallery of Zimbabwe in conjunction with the Swedish Embassy will on March 15 hold a photographic exhibition courtesy of Swedish photographer, Jense Assur titled “Africa is a Great Country”.
It aims to present Africa as a heterogeneous entity.

In his first exhibition in Sweden, Assur said audiences were surprised to see the infrastructure and lifeblood of different cities on the continent. Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Andrew Langa will be the guest of honour.

“I was about seven years old when I first read ‘Tintin in the Congo’. This was my first image of Africa – the place of safari helmets, lions and jungle expeditions.

“The second image of Africa is a black and white image of hundreds of men, women and children sitting on the ground, waiting for death. They’re pursued by starvation and they no longer have the strength to flee.

“For long, this has been the popular image in the white western world, because unlike postcard Africa, it still offers us the possibility of playing the part of the white knight.

“As a photojournalist I have contributed to, and reaffirmed the image of the ‘Africa of distress and death’. “In 1992, while working for the Swedish daily newspaper Expressen, I went to Somalia, photographing war victims with their legs shredded and torn by land mines. That was when I realised what my future as a photographer must be.”