12.02.2007
Artist and lecturer in photography at the university, Julia Winckler has created an interactive web archive on nineteenth century explorer Heinrich Barth: www.retracingheinrichbarth.co.uk.
Last summer Julia Winckler retraced a dramatic African journey undertaken by Barth and recorded anecdotal accounts about his expedition on film and video.
Barth travelled through North and Central Africa in the 1850s for nearly six years. He was an exceptional explorer and possibly the first European to recognise the significance of Africa's long-standing history and the continent's rich and diverse cultures.
Barth spoke Arabic as well as several African languages and was genuinely interested in the people he met throughout his journey. He was vehemently opposed to the slave trade he witnessed and was interested in the religion of Islam.
Stories and anecdotes are central to this project, which does not seek to present Barth's voice as authoritative, but rather puts forward a range of contemporary and historical views, including Barth's, those of local communities and the artist's own voice.
The project entitled Retracing Heinrich Barth is a collaboration with Sam Butler (Senior Designer at Web Technology Group) and Mia Thornton (Chiron/Marie Curie Research Fellow) and also received funding from the university's EPOCH initiative.
A photographic exhibition will run from 22 February to 9 March in the Gallery foyer and the CETLD (Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning through Design) space at Grand Parade.
Retracing Heinrich Barth and the Mutiny on the Bounty
A talk entitled 'Retracing Heinrich Barth and the Mutiny on the Bounty:
Two stories from West Africa and the South Pacific' will take place
on 28 February in the CETLD space at 1 pm. The talk is on journeys and
retracing historical events with Julia Winckler and Dea Birkett is associated
with the exhibition.
Dea Birkett tells of her passion for the story
of the 1789 Mutiny on the Bounty which drove her, over 200 years later,
to set sail for Pitcairn Island, home to the few remaining descendants
of Fletcher Christian and his mutinous crew. Searching for a palm-fringed
paradise, she discovered an outcrop of hell. Dea's journey led her to
question our perceptions of small, isolated communities and the burden
we place on them to live our dreams. Dea's book, Serpent in Paradise,
the story of her stay on Pitcairn, is published by Anchor Books.
Based on nineteenth century explorer Heinrich Barth's 'Travels and Discoveries
in North and Central Africa' 155 years on Julia Winckler retraced Barth's
journey to Agadez and Tintellust, a small Tuareg village in the Air mountains,
Northern Niger, West Africa and recorded anecdotes about his stay on film and
video to create an interactive web archive and photographic exhibition.
Dea Birkett's own exhibition 'From Winnie the Pooh to West Africa, The Royal Literary Fund', will take place in the gallery foyer at Grand Parade from 25 February to 9 March.
Contact: Marketing and Communications, University of Brighton, 01273 643022
