honorable mention
Javier sanchez-monge escardo spainPhoto © Javier sanchez-monge escardo
title
AN AFRICAN MARABOUT AND PHOTOGRAPHER JAVIER SÁNCHEZ-MONGE ESCARDÓ
Inspired by the deep contrast in between totally different cultures and while working on a photographic assignment on West African Marabouts I decided to take my self-portrait altogether with one of them who was also a great Imam.
A Marabout is a highly respected holy man who is engaged in the world of spirits, practices magic and some forms of sorcery. His engagement in the world of spirits comes from an old pre-Islamic tradition, which is considered by orthodox Islam followers as an animist barbaric form of syncretism against Islam.
For the past decades, Marabouts have played an important role in encouraging the young West Africans to migrate to Europe, by blessing them and making special Voodoo amulets called gris gris which will protect them throughout their journey. According to Marabouts the migration to richer countries will allow the youth to make enough money to make one day their mandatory pilgrimage to the Mecca.
His works have been published on El País, La Vanguardia, El Confidencial, El Día, El Diario de Navarra, and about climate change through the Spanish agency Agencia EFE. Regularly he publishes on Periodistas en Español, addressed to Spanish speaking audiences.
More recently Javier Sánchez-Monge Escardó has been awarded the IPA Spanish Edition title of Deeper Perspective Photographer of the Year (2017), Nominee by the LUCIE FOUNDATION for his works on climate change among four other international candidates to become the Deeper Perspective Photographer of the year 2017 and his works on Climate change were shown at the Dale Carnegie Hall in New York on October 2017.
Some of his prints have been exhibited at international photo Exhibits on behalf of the LUCIE FOUNDATION ( At the Mayors Summit , for the UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE 2015 -Addressing Climate Change-) or also on behalf of the Lucie Foundation on the MOPLA (Month of Photography Los Angeles). As well on behalf of the ALFRED FRIED AWARDS at the UNESCO building in Paris, and throughout different countries, such as in 2016, when travelling as part of the “Best of the Show” travelling photo exhibit organized by the International Photography Awards (IPA).
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entry description
April/9/2017. Serrekunda. Gambia. West AfricaInspired by the deep contrast in between totally different cultures and while working on a photographic assignment on West African Marabouts I decided to take my self-portrait altogether with one of them who was also a great Imam.
A Marabout is a highly respected holy man who is engaged in the world of spirits, practices magic and some forms of sorcery. His engagement in the world of spirits comes from an old pre-Islamic tradition, which is considered by orthodox Islam followers as an animist barbaric form of syncretism against Islam.
For the past decades, Marabouts have played an important role in encouraging the young West Africans to migrate to Europe, by blessing them and making special Voodoo amulets called gris gris which will protect them throughout their journey. According to Marabouts the migration to richer countries will allow the youth to make enough money to make one day their mandatory pilgrimage to the Mecca.
about the photographer
avier Sánchez-Monge Escardó is a Spanish photographer and philosopher born in 1965 in Madrid who has travelled and lived throughout different countries in an effort to document both humanitarian and environmental causes, specially dedicating himself in the past two years to the issue of climate change and to the man-made era of the anthropocene, among other issues of humanitarian nature, such as the Rohingya refugees.His works have been published on El País, La Vanguardia, El Confidencial, El Día, El Diario de Navarra, and about climate change through the Spanish agency Agencia EFE. Regularly he publishes on Periodistas en Español, addressed to Spanish speaking audiences.
More recently Javier Sánchez-Monge Escardó has been awarded the IPA Spanish Edition title of Deeper Perspective Photographer of the Year (2017), Nominee by the LUCIE FOUNDATION for his works on climate change among four other international candidates to become the Deeper Perspective Photographer of the year 2017 and his works on Climate change were shown at the Dale Carnegie Hall in New York on October 2017.
Some of his prints have been exhibited at international photo Exhibits on behalf of the LUCIE FOUNDATION ( At the Mayors Summit , for the UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE 2015 -Addressing Climate Change-) or also on behalf of the Lucie Foundation on the MOPLA (Month of Photography Los Angeles). As well on behalf of the ALFRED FRIED AWARDS at the UNESCO building in Paris, and throughout different countries, such as in 2016, when travelling as part of the “Best of the Show” travelling photo exhibit organized by the International Photography Awards (IPA).
back to gallery