“In the little house of red mud, Vola was taking a break from her multiple daily chores to look at her children play games. On the wooden bench, near the only window that let a ray of austral light in, Vola was letting herself be lulled by her dreams. In Madagascar, the daily rhythm is slow. But did she know? She had not known any other.”
– Extract from “Humani Afrika | Malagasy Chronicles”
img alt=”Humani Afrika | Malagasy Chronicles – An Ebook by Marc-André Pauzé” src=”https://121clicks.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/humani_afrika_02.jpg” width=”600″ height=”784″ border=”0″>
The eBook “Humani Afrika | Malagasy Chronicles” is finally ready to download. It is a 110 pages story book of short text with a load of photos, Colours and Black & White, many never published. Through out the book, I bring you with me in exploration of the Red Island, Madagascar. I had traveled to this island of the Indian Ocean eight times, sometimes three months non-stop. When I was preparing an exhibition for the “Festival Les Nuits D’Afrique” in Montréal, with my good friend Nathalie Sentenne, we had the idea to take the pictures out from their context of reportage and telling the stories that led us to take them. From one thing to another, the idea evolved into an eBook, than a real book. But it was in french and many people asked me to translate it. As my english is “fair” but not to the standard of a writer, I hired a translater. She worked out the text for a couple of months before I could read it.
In the meantime, I decided to upgrade the book with my best and definitive work on Madagascar, until I return, of course.
The “Hunani Afrika Project” become a global concept at the center of a collection of books whose first publication is “Humani Afrika| Malagasy Chronicles”
So what will you find in this book?
- My first arrival and discovery of Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar.
- Exploration of the backcountry
- My work with Unicef – Madagascar
- A 20 pages full-reportage on Ilakaka, a klondike-style of a town, where miners look for Saphirre with everything that comes with that kind of human activities.
- A 18 pages full-reportage on the rice culture and its impact on social and health issues.
- And many, many pictures of the daily life. A look from the inside as I have been living with a malagasy family for months.
Here’s what wrote my project coordinator of the time in the preface:
“What kind of a photographer is Marc-André?
To answer this question, I went back into my memories.
While I was helping him for the realization of a photo-video coverage in Madagascar, we were three kilometers from a village in the hinterland. One morning I had to go to the village to film some scenes, I asked my way to Marc-André.
“It’s quite simple: First you cross the rice field straight forward. Once on the other side, you take the right path up to the corner where there is a pig tied to a stake. Then you follow the path along another rice field where there are men working with zebus. You continue for ten minutes by climbing a hill to finally arrive in the village.”
I thought I was about to die! I had no markers, and he was talking to me the same way as would have a Malagasy. This is what characterizes Marc-André. He is at home wherever he goes.
His work reflects a particular sensitivity and social commitment to the defense of the ” voiceless ” , those who are struggling for survival and to human rights in general. (…)”
– Diane Desrochers, Project Coordinator
That’s where I’ll bring you. In the middle of it. In the house and life of Malagasy.
