SKU: 51302194633

Expedition to Thies

Sale price$72.00 Regular price$80.00
Save 10%

Pay in installments of $20.00 with ShopPay, AfterPay and Klarna

Shipping Estimate
USA
  • USA
  • CAN

Ships within 48 hours · Estimated delivery Jul 29 - Aug 3

Promo Codes Available:

For Your Every Summer RSVP, with Code: SUMMER15

Description

Expedition to ThiesThe Light of Thies. by Jorge Represa We perceive the world through our senses. Studies show that sight is the most important sense for all cultures, followed by hearing, touch, taste and smell. Blindness is a much more severe disability in Africa than in Europe. None of the blind people I photographed used a cane. When I asked why, the doctors told me that, as they lived in remote areas or chaotic cities, blind people rarely left their homes. In such

 

The Light of Thies. by Jorge Represa

We perceive the world through our senses. Studies show that sight is the most important sense for all cultures, followed by hearing, touch, taste and smell. Blindness is a much more severe disability in Africa than in Europe. None of the blind people I photographed used a cane. When I asked why, the doctors told me that, as they lived in remote areas or chaotic cities, blind people rarely left their homes. In such depressed contexts, the blindness of a family member also has a huge economic impact on the entire clan.

I believe that the second greatest gift one human being can offer another in Africa is to restore their sight, after saving their life. We live in a world where inequalities are growing by the second and reaching unbearable levels. Healthcare in Africa relies on medical expeditions from the developed world, especially given how advanced medical technology has become.


The Rementería Foundation invited me to accompany their ophthalmological expedition to Thies in Senegal, where we restored sight to 240 people in the space of a week. They gave me barely any time to respond, and the work was completely different to what I normally photograph. It would have been easy to turn it down, but I was compelled to accept without hesitation.

The night before, I had watched Akira Kurosawa's 1952 film Ikiru. It begins with a voiceover describing the main character, an elderly civil servant who spends his days stamping the endless applications and petitions piling up on his desk. The clerk is played by the wonderful actor Takashi Shimura. The voiceover says: 'This is the protagonist of our story, but it would be boring to talk about him now, as he is just killing time. He passes through life. In fact, he is hardly alive...'

Although I have never stamped anything in my life and have nothing in common with this man, the idea of not making the most of my days made me view the opportunity to go to Senegal as part of a medical expedition as a gift. Then I started to worry about how I was going to solve this assignment, which was finally going to materialise in the form of a book, in just seven days.

On my second day in Thies, Laureano, the surgeon who restores sight to people, asked me, “What is it like to photograph blind people?”
I was stunned. I realised that I wasn't just photographing blind people, but drawing their attention to me. Their blindness was irrelevant; I had before me the best models of my long career as a photographer.

I got up close and personal when photographing them, taking close-ups, because if I moved further away, I would lose the necessary tension between model and photographer, and the enormous power these people could project. So, with a heavy heart, I had to give up fabulous costumes, wonderful prints and textures of fabrics, so as not to lose the extraordinary people in front of me.

The Expedition to Thies exhibition opens with contextual images to help visitors understand and locate the area in which its protagonists live.

These are photographs of the beauty of the wild landscape and the atmosphere of the city. I have avoided reflecting the harsh reality in these images. As a photographer, I have never been interested in poverty, marginalisation or violence. I have always approached my work with artistic freedom, reflecting only what moves me. In my obsession with conceptualising the work rather than making a documentary report, I have left out many descriptive photos from this final edition. The book concludes with a sequence of light entering the hospital anarchically, seeping through every crack.

Light is the protagonist of this story, and those who bring it back are its heroes. I would like to thank the Rementería Foundation, Adela Parra, Mariluz Capelo and Laureano Álvarez Rementería, the medical team and aid workers, and everyone else for setting an example and demonstrating commitment, generosity and love for those most in need.

Shipping Notes
  • Free Standard Shipping on $100+ Orders to the USA.
  • Except Preorder products are shipped in 48 hours.
  • Delivery to the USA:
  1. Standard Shipping : 3-10 business days
  • If time is of the essence, please consider selecting expedited delivery for faster service.
Exchange/Return Notes
  • We offer a 30-day return/exchange service after receiving.
  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
  • To process your return/exchange, please contact us at [email protected]
  • Please click here for more details>>> Return & Exchange Policy
SKU: 51302194633

Discover Niche Categories That Outsell

Top-Converting Item to Boost Your Average Order

4.1 ★★★★★
Based on 24 reviews
Sort
Highest Rating
Newest First
Oldest First
Product Reviews
A
Verified Purchase
Amazon Customer
Natrona Heights, US
★★★★★ 5
Five Stars
Format: Paperback
This helped a lot for us to prepare for the SLATE exam.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2016
A
Verified Purchase
Amazon Customer
Grantham, US
★★★★★ 5
Good
Format: Paperback
This is great! I like this one.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2016
N
Verified Purchase
Ng Meowster
Louisville, US
★★★★★ 2
Good to have if you've never seen the iTEP exam, but don't rely on it to boost your scores
Format: Paperback
This book is good in that it comes with two practice tests: one in the beginning of the book, one in the end of the book. The grading rubric is helpful too. However, the actual guide part of the book, doesn't help too much with how to improve test scores. What I like least about this guide is that it won't tell you which questions you answered incorrectly on the practice exams. A good test prep guide will tell you what you answered incorrectly, and will tell you what logic to follow to get to the correct answer. In the reading passages, it would be nice to know where I can find evidence to justify the "correct" answer. In the grammar section, it would be nice to know which rule I'm violating. Any test guide should always come with some testing strategies. I.E. If this question is taking up too much time, skip it and go to the next one. This guide lacks simple strategies like that. Simple strategies like that could be useful when incorporated into this guide because there are certain sections on the exam that you can go back to previous questions, but some sections where the "back" button is disabled. Overall, if you've never seen an iTEP exam before, this book is certainly helpful in that it will give you an idea of what you will be testing for. However, this book alone won't help you achieve a score of 6. The table of contents itself will tell you there are only 86 pages of actual content covering test material. That's not enough to cover how to excel in the exam.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2015
C
Verified Purchase
Cliente Amazon
Chelsea, US
★★★★★ 1
Don't buy it
Format: Paperback
It does not prepare for the real test. Using it is absolutely not enough to be approved with good grades. Too expensive for what it offers.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2016
X
Verified Purchase
Xiaomeng Han
Fort Morgan, US
★★★★★ 5
Five Stars
Format: Paperback
great
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2016

recommand products