Ambassadors of JoyComing back to Rio de Janeiro the week after carnival I arrived just in time to be introduced to the Embaixadores da Alegria - the Ambassadors of Joy - who campaign for the inclusion of disabled people in the world's biggest carnival. To gain more visibility they were invited to open the Desfile das Campeãs, the Champion's Parade of the six best samba schools. The parade took place the Saturday after Carnival. And what a joy it was to meet these amazing people, and to be invited to follow them on their parade through the Sapucaí.
Sapucaí, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2024 Back in South Pará, BrazilThe beginning of the year started with a return to the Amazon region to follow on from past projects. After eight years I was back in the region I had travelled so extensively between 2000 and 2007 when working with Anti-Slavery International on a different mission. Now I was back to continue to work in line with my ongoing research about the socio-psychological impact of culture. My goal was to work on a new study aobut life-style of the settlers who have come to the region to have access to land and to live off family farming, to visit some of the cities in the area and to observe other emerging trends. Given that I have worked in the Pará over many years, it was interesting for me to observe how the region had developed, what had changed and what remained the same. Working again with the Pastoral Land Commission, we visted several settlements and cities in the South of Pará and I could gained a good understanding of trends and changes.
Pará, Brazil, 2024 Published in the LFI.GalleryFollowing on with my commitment to present my work to a wider audience, my images continue to be shown amongst the Leica Master shots selections and in the LFI.Gallery. This time one of my images from World Bodypainting Festival was selected. Now my work is represented in yet another category as proof to my ongoing commitment to photography and quality.
Monochromes - exhibiting with LoosenartFollowing an invitiation by Loosenart, a selection of my work from my project London Today was shown in the international exhibition MONOCHROMES in Rome, Italy.
Opening Thursday 28 Sep / 6:00 pm
Millepiani, Via N. Odero 13, Rome
Exhibition visitable from monday to friday
9:00 am - 7:00 pm
World Body Painting FestivalContinuing to explore different aspects of urban settings, this time I immersed myself in a very different cultural aspect. Travelling all the way to Klagenfurt in Austria I took part in the World Body Painting Festival to meet and learn about the world of body painting. Body painting is a human practice I have encountered many times before amongst indigenous cultures and in carnival settings around the world. But then, this was a very special experience, which has allowed me to learn about yet another side of culture, art and people.
Living in London in temporary accommodationLiving in London Living in London, in termporary accommodation was a personal experiment conducted in 2022. Over several months Angelika Berndt lived in different types of temporary accommodation in different parts of London. Accommodation types ranged from a room in a flat share, to a hostel, a fully furnished attic apartment and a sublet in a family home. The experiment became as much a trial to find out how it feels to live in these different types of accommodation as it gave insights into the neighbourhoods themselves, their people, the supply chain and transport facilities. Having lived in Ealing for many years, Angelika soon was to learn what social support, good access to supplies and transport was all about. The project was recently presented at an Ealing LIP meeting and is available in digital book form. Please get in touch for further information.
Selected as LFI Master shotIt is an honour to have one more of my photos selected by Leica as a Master Shot. This time the harmonious scene of women and girls gathered on their home terrace making hand-held brooms from local grass Gambia was selected for the Leica Master Shot series.
Summer Open StudioNext public event in London showing my work SUMMER OPEN STUDIO at Vanguard Court Studios Sat 17 June 11am - 5pm Vanguard Court Studios Buses: 12 • 36 • 171 • 345 • 436 Selected as LFI Master shotThis month my photo from the Rural Living series has been selected as a Leica Master shot for their gallery's selection America | Caribbean. The photo was taken as part of a research I conducted in Brazil in 2022. At the time I was working with the Iracambi reforestation project in Minas Gerais leading a study about the local culture surrounding the Iracambi project to better understand how the traditional local life-style had influenced the Iracambi reforestation project and vice versa.
Published in LFI GalleryOne of my photos from the Urban Realities series was selected for the Leica Master shot selection and published in the Leica Gallery Architecture | Cityscape. The photo was taken in London in 2020 as part of my ongoing studies, in this case exploring how the ever faster changing skyline of London is transforming the city and its urban life-style.
Fuerteventura Behind the Scenes book reviewThe last edition of fLIP, the magazine of London Independent Photography, published a two page review of my book Fuerteventura Behind the Scenes by Tony Othen. Tony Othen is not only a professional photographer well known for his extensive work with charities in and around London, but also the owner of the The Greenwich Gallery.
Tony says: " Even when Angelika moves out of town and chooses to help us ‘feel’ the island by treating us to landscapes I still feel the people and the culture beside me'.
Back at BEATBack in London in time for the Ealing Art Trail I am thrilled to invite you to my next exhibition. Contemplating walking aimlessly I took up the challenge to look at my photography from a different angle and found some interesting insights... Venue: The Rickyard, Walpole Park, London W5 5BS Dates: Weekends 10–11 Sept and 17–18 Sept 2022 Opens: 12noon – 6pm
Look forward to seeing you there!
Published in Diario de FuerteventuraAnd this is what the local press say about my exhibition at Casa Naturalez in the heart of Fueteventura.
Diario de Fuerteventura, August 2022. Living Spaces – Exhibiting on FuerteventuraThe concept Living Spaces was especially designed for this exhibition on Fuerteventura, bringing together three major projects to introduce the concept of different living spaces that exist thousands of miles apart and in a seemingly parallel universe. Wandering from Fuerteventura to London and then to China, there is this strange sensation that the changing world we witness in one place, is, in some way, influencing the life-space of the other. Combining colour and black & white to show different concepts of understanding and communicating, this exhibition introduces the concept of past and present and changing cultures. All three projects Fuerteventura Behind the Scenes, China Today and London Today all have been designed with a similar concept in mind, to look at transformation and persisted traditions in a competitive world. Fuerteventura Behind the Scenes was developed when Angelika found herself grounded on Fuerteventura during the major European lockdown beginning of 2021. For over two months Angelika roamed the island, uncovering a past and present of dreams and survival. It is this project and the book launch of the book with the same title Fuerteventura Behind the Scenes that has now brought Angelika and her work back to Fuerteventura. Living Spaces can be seen at Casa Naturaleza, Vega de Rio Palma, Fuerteventura until the end of August 2022. Opening times Tue – Sun 11am to 5pm.
New Book: Fuerteventura Behind the ScenesThe new book is out now! Fuerteventura Behind the Scenes tells the story about a Fuerteventura that has seemingly been forgotten, a Fuerteventura, which has existed for many centuries and has long since adapted to the ever-changing climate and influx of different cultures. With 75 well-presented photographs Fuerteventura Behind the Scenes takes the reader on a discovery journey into an arid landscape where human existence and agriculture have reinvented themselves through the centuries and survived despite the many draughts and scarceness of water. The reader is invited to meet a very different reality and is introduced to the testimonies of broken dreams and past times represented by unused buildings and deserted hotels. It is a narrative that is skilfully woven together with a minimum of words. It produces a visual essay that is memorable. The book Fuerteventura Behind the Scenes is available as paperback in the usual format To order your book, please get in touch.
In Germany Fuerteventura Behind the Scenes can be purchased at Galerie Kleebolte and on Fuerteventura the book is sold at Casa de la Naturaleza. |
