Afronauts [SIGNED - 2012 1ST EDITION & 1ST PRINTING - WITH DRAWING OF A SPACESHIP]

de Middel, Cristina

ISBN 10: 8461585968 / ISBN 13: 9788461585960

Edité par Self Published, 2012

A propos de cet article

SIGNED COPY Self Published, 2012. Hardcover in stiff flexi boards. 88 pp. Small quarto (6¾ x 9¼ in. 17.5 x 23.5 cm) Unnumbered edition of 1000 copies. . Numerous color and black-and white photos, illustrations and reproductions of 'ephemera'. SIGNED by Cristina De Middel on verso of front cover with a drawing of a spaceship/penis. BOOK CONDITION: Fine; a tight, bright, clean copy with the original rubber band book clasp (ass issued by the publisher). SIGNED In 1964, still leaving the dream of their recently gained independence, Zambia started a space program that would put the first african on the moon catching up the USA and the Soviet Union in the space race.Only a few optimists supported the project by Edward Makuka, the school teacher in charge of presenting the ambicious program and getting its necessary funding. But the financial aid never came, as the United Nations declined their support, and one of the astronauts , a 16 year old girl, got pregnant and had to quit.That is how the heroic iniciative turned into an exotic episode of the african history, surrounded by wars, violence, droughts and hunger.As a photojournalist I have always been attracted by the excentric lines of story-telling avoiding the same old subjects told in the same old ways.Now , with my personal projects, I respect the basis of the truth but allow myself to break the rules of veracity trying to push the audience into analyzing the patterns of the stories we consume as real.Afronauts is based on the documentation of an impossible dream that only lives in the pictures.I start from a real fact that took place 50 years ago and rebuild the documents adapting them to my personal imagery.

N° de réf. du vendeur 1480

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Afronauts [SIGNED - 2012 1ST EDITION & 1ST PRINTING - WITH DRAWING OF A SPACESHIP]
• Éditeur: Self Published
• Date de parution: 2012
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 8461585968
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9788461585960
• Reliure: Hardcover
• Édition: First Edition, First Printing.
• État de l'article: New
• Signé: Signé par l'auteur
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • Photography

A propos de ce titre

Synopsis

Zambia 1964, the rather eccentric school teacher Edward Makuka Nkoloso single-handedly started a space program to put the first African on the moon, thereby joining the space race between the Sovjet Union and the United States. Due to a lack of funding, both by the Zambian Government and the United Nations, and because one of the astronauts, a teenage girl, became pregnant, the short-lived program came to an early end. It is a lesser known part of the African history which unfortunately mostly has been dominated by wars, violence and hunger. Half a century later Spanish photojournalist Christina de Middel used this story as the basis for her book Afronauts in which she rebuilds the story and adapts it to her personal imagery. De Middel shows us surreal pictures of a space program situated in Africa, containing elephants, colorful spacesuits and beautiful hairdresses. The result of this fictional documentation is funny, striking and even thought provoking. One might want to blame De Middel for mocking Nkoloso and ridiculing the idea of Africans on the moon. But according to De Middel: "The images are beautiful and the story is pleasant at a first level, but it is built on the fact that nobody believes that Africa will ever reach the moon. It hides a very subtle critique to our position towards the whole continent and our prejudices."