Guardian, The Efe Tribe, The Ituri Rain Forest, Zaire America, 20th century

Africa III

Guardian, The Efe Tribe, The Ituri Rain Forest, Zaire

1989

Elisabeth Sunday

(American, b. 1958)

Image: 85.7 x 71.4 cm (33 3/4 x 28 1/8 in.); Paper: 100.8 x 76.1 cm (39 11/16 x 29 15/16 in.); Matted: 121.9 x 96.5 cm (48 x 38 in.)

Gift of Marty Alpert 2000.109

Impression: 8

Location: not on view

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Description

"Photographing in the Ituri Rain Forest was by far the most challenging photographic assignment I have ever given myself," said artist Elisabeth Sunday. "It was very dark in there. This series was created by searching the forest floor in search of shafts of light that would spill down through the thick canopy of trees. Usually, those accompanying me would run ahead to scout a sunlit location. If they found a place suitable for pictures, they could send back calls to the rest of us. We'd then all break into a swift jog on an undulating and winding forest path in an effort to reach the light before it faded. This routine of searching for the light would repeat itself every day of my stay in the rain forest. It became a kind of meditation . . . searching for light. The small child in this photograph is the 'Guardian' or spirit of life. She represents the anima that imbues the forms on Earth with life. At the base of this image, human form and botanical form are intertwined, differentiating themselves as the eye travels up the image toward the top. The Efe believe that they 'are of all things' with no separation between themselves and their beloved forest."