Award winning local artists exhibit photography from Ethiopia

Brought to our attention by Krissy at WynnumCentral members Manson Framers is an exhibition by two local artists of photography from their travels in Ethiopia. The exhibition is on at the Percolator Gallery, 134 Latrobe Terrace, Paddington from 21st July-2nd August (10am-4.30pm). Opening night is this Friday 24th July 6pm-9pm.

Here is some more information from Manson Framers…

A World Apart – Tribes of the Omo Valley

A collaboration of images and art works by emerging Brisbane Artists, Sharon Wellings and Heather McKnight. In February this year Sharon was awarded the winner of the Portrait Category in the Australian Photography Magazine.

Sharon and Heather, childhood friends and passionate travellers, have spent many years visiting unusual places and experiencing unique cultures.

In September 2014, Sharon travelled with a group of photography enthusiasts to the remote Omo Valley in the southwest corner of Ethiopia, drawn to the area not by its landscape, but by its inhabitants: the ochre-skinned Hamar, the lip-plated Mursi, and the painted Karo.

While photographing the tribes in their villages, what stood out for Sharon was a total absence of material possessions. Children still die from malnutrition. Clean water and reliable food are scarce; a world apart from the one that we live in.

In spite of the strong traditions of the Omo culture, modernisation is having an inevitable impact on their beliefs and unique way of life. The future of the tribes and their villages who rely on the Omo River for daily existence is uncertain, due to the forced repatriation of the tribes into model villages, to make way for the Pride of Ethiopia – a highly ambitious and controversial hydroelectric dam.

There is a fear the tribes and their way of life will vanish forever.

Sharon and Heather hope the exhibition creates awareness and brings two completely different worlds closer together.