Future Memories of Ethiopia
Photographer Michael Tsegaye documents the rapidly evolving cities of Ethiopia
Who is Michael Tsegaye?
Born in 1975, Michael Tsegaye lives and works in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Tsegaye’s artistic oeuvre is greatly inspired by the history and culture of Ethiopia and its sprawling capital Addis Ababa.
Future MemoriesDesign Indaba
Documenting Ethiopia
Throughout his career, Michael's portraiture, landscapes and cityscapes are an ongoing visual story of the simple unadorned – and often vanishing as urbanisation and technological progress set in – traditional ways of life in Ethiopia.
A symbol of change
In a new photographic work, Michael has worked with the blue sheeting often hung over building sites. As he states ''I’ve lived in Addis Ababa all my life. In the last couple of decades construction has been booming.''
Losing history
Lamenting the loss of old buildings, and the history they carry, Michael states ''
Architecture tells the story of a place. In the name of development, pages are being torn out from the history of the city. Old neighbourhoods are disappearing.''
Future MemoriesDesign Indaba
Losing history
Michael goes on to explain this of loss. ''I’ve spent many years documenting these neighbourhoods before they are knocked down, I always exhibit these photos in black and white. They are memories now. This particular blue marks the coming of a new city, of Future Memories''
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