Using boxer Emmanuel Danso as a pretext, photographer João Miguel Barros entered Wisdom, Accra, Ghana's capital. There he discovered a microcosm where a school operates, its courtyard serving as a location for boxing training. An "absolutely seductive" space, but without conditions for children. The photographer speaks of his intention to help the community and, as a next project, the creation of a zine.
With the door of Accra opened by the Ghanaian boxer Emmanuel Danso, João Miguel Barros photographed Wisdom, a school complex with 250 students. On the patio, Danso and his colleagues train boxing and the kids watch. "It is an absolutely seductive space in terms of image, but it is clear that children do not have the conditions we have as a reference," the photographer said of the space, adding, it is "a completely dazzling world." João Miguel Barros will be exhibiting 39 photos at Albergue SCM until the 4th of August.
"Wisdom" is the title of the photography exhibition João Miguel Barros is presenting in the two galleries and the courtyard of Albergue SCM. Alongside the “Blood, Sweat and Tears” project, where the photographer accompanied Emmanuel Danso, he now wants to show the space where Danso trains, the courtyard of the Wisdom complex: "Wisdom is the name of a microcosm that exists in old Accra, which has an large old building, where a school operates, which has 250 students." On his travels to Ghana to photograph Danso, he also ended up photographing the surroundings. In the courtyard around the training place, "several families live and there are lots of kids playing, children trying to imitate boxers, child [fighters] who already put on their boxing gloves to practice," João Miguel Barros recalls. That is, according to the photographer, "a seductive space in terms of image".
However, it is a space that still lacks in terms of conditions for children. "It is clear that children do not have the conditions we have as reference, they are poor, the school does not have conditions, but I was fascinated by some of the photographs I took," said the lawyer. "It's a completely dazzling world," he added.
"I decided to create a much more human project, focused on people and children," said João Miguel Barros, adding that in this collection the boxing images were left in the background. "This Wisdom project is 39 large-format photographs, 90 by 72, they are photographs of people, this project is very focused on this human diversity of children, adults, adolescents, and all of them having that geographic micro-area that is the courtyard of a school," he explained. For the photographer, "it is truly important that we can tell a story, and stories with a human dimension are absolutely essential."
João Miguel Barros said that he proposed the use of two galleries in the space to Carlos Marreiros, president of Albergue SCM: "I’m fully using the two spaces, one gallery has the school exhibitions and the other has the photographs of the courtyard". With some of these photographs, João Miguel Barros already won 1st place in the amateur photojournalism category at the FAPA – Fine Arts Photography Awards in 2019, and 2nd place in the editorial / photo essay category at the Moscow International Photo Awards 2019.
THE RETURN IN SEPTEMBER AND THE NEEDED AID
"I have, at this moment, a project that goes beyond that, which is to try to help the children of that school," said João Miguel Barros, explaining that the objective is "to contribute to the reconstruction of the school." There is still no concrete idea for larger-scale help, so Wisdom help will have to be done by sending school supplies to children. Then, on a larger scale, the photographer says he wants to help in the recovery of classrooms, but how he will do this is still to be decided.
João Miguel Barros will return to Accra in September. But what remains to be done? "Now, when I go there, I want to try to get photographs of the families that live around the courtyard," he explained. "Now I want to see if I do a more developed, possibly documentary, work, I'm going to use a small camera and then see what comes out", he added.
ZINE, THE NEXT PROJECT
João Miguel Barros revealed what his next project is: a zine with two independent editions. The photographer wants the publication of "Zine-Photo", as it will be called, to happen after the summer. It will have a circulation of about 300 copies, with two issues per year to be distributed in Macau, Paris, London, Portugal and also Tokyo.
"At the moment I already have the name registered, I have the domain registered, which will be called Zine-Photo," he said, explaining the two different editions: "One is only with my photographs and another, completely independent, will be a zine 'curated' by me, that is, I will curate the projects published there from photographers around the world. They will be two independent editions, one with my work and the other one would be a magazine I will curate." The first issue, to be published after summer, will be of boxing photos, and in a second issue to be released in March, the main theme will be Macau. "This is a project that is very clear in my head, I really want to do this," he said.
