This work is a melancholy reflection on Africa, a land where I spent decades but no longer belong to. It is about the loss of fragility in the face of change, about what could have been but was not; it is a bid at reconciling beauty and noise; it is also a search for silence.
I attempt to finally see a place I love and care for. Not the things they said were beautiful, but the silences and apparent emptiness that begged to be noticed. Photographic subjects must challenge viewers to consider why one often overlooks beauty that speaks in whispers. Or why the passage of time is a wonderfully privileged thing. Or why shadows and darkness aren’t always ominous.
I attempt to be a catalyst for a different way of seeing the everyday. It asks viewers to ponder, to excavate a recess, to abandon preconceptions. In the end, it isn’t so much about triggering a conversation between the photographer and the observer as it is between the observer and their own self, which often tries to bury many such hidden yet beautiful possibilities.
This exhibition is part of Head On Photo Festival Perth, presented by the Head On Foundation.
Hours: 24/7
Entry Fee: Free
Gilles Nicolet
Gilles Nicolet, a self-taught photographer, spent over 35 years in Africa before relocating to Europe, yet he frequently returns for his work. His passion for anthropology and ethnography informs his ability to capture the essence of his subjects. His early photo series focused on rare traditions that linked humans with wildlife, but as these traditions vanish, his work has grown more personal and contemplative, shifting from colour to black and white.
Featured in National Geographic, Geo, and Smithsonian, he’s won major awards like the World Press Photo Award and authored the books Swahili and Burnt Eyes (forthcoming).
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