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the dark side of intellectual property...  


i guess i'm not too surprised by this, but it makes me angry. in my opinion, intellectual property should be about protecting the creator, not the exploiter. it's a sad day when a country's cultural heritage has to be patented to prevent it from being stolen.


and then there's the advertising industry ripping off the art world... sigh.


• pic borrowed from mungo's website 

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"stories, like food, lose their flavour when cooked in a hurry"

- ngugi wa thiong'o

. . .

Lalibela, Ethiopia
High up on my travel wish list is Lalibela, an ancient holy city in Ethiopia - built to be the New Jerusalem and boasting churches carved out of solid rock. Legend maintains that angels came down from heaven to help build the churches, as it's near impossible for humans to have made them... Be that as it may, I can't wait to see this ancient city with my own eyes.

...

spotted the photographs of hans silvester on pia jane bijkerek's blog and was mesmerised by them. i love the daring and imaginative ensembles of the Surma and Mursi tribes, yet i also wonder how much of this is really natural and how much is styled (and is something that started off as a sincere and authentic expression fast becoming just another tourist curio?). but my cynicism about the influence of the west on africa aside, i really love seeing something so riveting and inspiring coming from my continent, surpassing a lot of fashion seen on the catwalks.






there are a lot more images here.

• Pictures by Hans Silvester (Rapho/Camera Press) from the book Natural Fashion: Tribal Decoration from Africa by Hans Silvester, published by Thames and Hudson, £19.95.