LOS ANGELES, 19 November 2007 — That the poorest of rural women from Third World societies traverse miles to fetch drinking water has for long been a stereotypical image. “Women, Water and Wells: Photographs of West Africa by Gil Garcetti”, an exhibition at the University of California Los Angeles’s (UCLA) Fowler Museum this month, challenges this limited point of view.
Garcetti, a former LA county district attorney and a documentary photographer, has focused on the varied dimensions of water scarcity, including the gender disparity it fosters, alongside the positive impact of grassroots water initiatives in some of the most challenging territories of West Africa.
Garcetti’s photographs are the result of a deep and complex approach. Landscape, its challenges, its impact and how people at the grassroots contend those challenges are all intertwined in his stunning black-and-white images. They form a much-needed narrative in which water emerges as the hub of a complex socioeconomic web rather than just a scarce natural resource.
The exhibition’s curation facilitates this narrative.
“Women, Water and Wells” is broadly divided into three sections. In the first are landscape images from rural Niger, Mali, Ghana and Burkina Faso. These register the harsh geographical conditions of the region, enabling the viewer to better appreciate the dynamics of water supply there. Besides landscapes, this section includes images alluding to the effects of water scarcity, such as sanitation and disease. The key in this section, though subtle, is the indication that water scarcity affects women’s education and through that their well-being — with more time and energies being consumed in traversing long distances to secure safe water. This is at the cost of education or any vocational training.
The next two sections attempt to prevent the show from slipping into an oversimplified negative portrayal of rural Africa. While the penultimate section chronicles grassroots efforts of NGOs to provide healthy drinking water and eradicate water-borne diseases — such as certain types of blindness, trachoma, guinea worm, dysentery and fluorosis — the final display is perhaps the most compelling and poignant. It registers the installation of safe water sources and the ways in which this affects the rural social and economic setup.
The efforts captured include those of health and sanitation, education, and the emergence of self-supporting grassroots economic activities through micro-credit initiatives such as soap making, bakery, batik dyeing and goat rearing alongside new agricultural possibilities. It is this segment that fully formulates Garcetti’s vision: “I did not want to be an intruder into people’s worlds and spaces. I wanted to be empathetic without being exploitative or condescending.”
Garcetti’s images bear a sense of nearness to his subjects. This is the result of his approach involving sustained engagement with the people rather than sporadic contacts. The 62 images that form “Women Water and Wells” are the outcome of five trips to different West African countries undertaken intermittently over the last six years. This enabled Garcetti to approach water on terms relevant to the people he was photographing instead of any preconceived notions he might have had as a Westerner touring Africa.
One of his favorite images from the show is of a woman in Mali, preparing to feed her baby. He recalls, “I exchanged no words with her. I had been in that village in Mali only for a couple of hours. She was preparing to feed her child. When I first saw her, I was as struck by her regal beauty as by the love and affection she expressed for her child. She was unmoved by my presence and the dignity in her love for her child impacted me. That moment challenged, for me, the image of Africa as composed of poor, dying and desperate people.”
Such experiences contributed to maturing Garcetti’s project, shifting the challenge from getting “tough images” toward securing frames of hope, optimism, success, and the beauty of the people and the landscape. “When there is hope, one feels one can be involved,” explains the well-known urban photographer. All the images are in monotone. “I am interested in the play of gray tones. Black-and-white communicates a message more clearly than color, which I think dilutes attention. My aim has been to engage with the people but by giving primacy to the issues that affect them. In West Africa, there was the constant risk that the vibrant colors of the landscape and fabrics alongside the beauty of the people would suppress the issues...”
“Women Water and Wells...” is integrated into a larger vision for creating awareness and securing funds for NGOs making positive impact at the grassroots in West Africa. According to Garcetti, “I think that morally and ethically the industrial world needs to help other countries. This has become particularly clear for me after 9/11. Politically, we need to aid and help Muslim countries in contending with their grassroots needs, such as water scarcity in West Africa.”
The show is presented in conjunction with the publication of the book “Water is Key — A Better Future for Africa.” The photo-book contains Garcetti’s images and messages from prominent figures such as former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan; and former US President Jimmy Carter. Dr Peter Gleick, president of the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security in California, collaborated with Garcetti to edit the book.
Incidentally, half of the royalties from the sale of the book will be directed to the Pacific Institute, which has, in turn, committed to dedicate those funds to NGOs in West Africa working in the area of water scarcity. Located in the central courtyard corridor of the Fowler Museum, “Women Water and Wells” receives regular audiences and most find the effort constructive. For instance, Nedra Parma, 31, a jewelry craftsperson from Santa Monica, who visited the exhibition, said that it gave a “more in-depth view about Africa.” “It is moving and one cannot but be saddened by the lack of basic amenities there, those that we take for granted in the West,” she said, adding that such efforts would “contribute in bridging the world at a people-to-people level.”