Flamboya by Viviane Sassen - 2008

Rome, Contrasto, 2008. . First edition; 4to (300 x 240 mmm, 11¾ x 9½ in); colour photographs, short story by Moses Isegawa, essay by Edo Dijksterhuis, design by SYB; photo-illustrated paper-covered boards, strip of binder's adhesive showing through on front pastedown at gutter as usual with this title, fine; [98]pp (many pages are two-thirds in width). Viviane Sassen was born in Amsterdam but lived in a Kenyan village from the ages of two to five while her father worked at a hospital. Flamboya contains photographs she made in Africa between 2003 and 2006. In a short text accompanying an exhibition featuring this work, she wrote:'Flamboya' refers to the 'Flamboyant' tree which blossoms in December and spatters the landscape across East and South Africa with countless deep red-and-orange flowers. Yet, maybe this name constitutes the sole remaining concession and reference to an exotic image of Africa in the history of a body of work that otherwise helps challenging this enduring conception. Shot in… Read More