Ushirikiano
noun (Swahili): partnership, collaboration, or community
of shared interest
In the Nakuprat-Gotu Conservancy in Northern Kenya, tribal leaders are leading an initiative which aims to bring peace and prosperity to a region ravaged by violence and climate change. Chris Jordan, an internationally acclaimed artist and cultural activist , was chosen for the Prix Pictet Commission, and traveled to Kenya to document the efforts of local tribes as they strive to create a sustainable future for this community. he efforts are based on principles of environmental stewardship, wildlife conservation, and peace. Despite enormous adversity that includes poverty, drought, and wildlife poaching, and some dubious intrusions of outside religious, commercial, and educational culture, this quiet mini-revolution, led by a council of tribal elders, is bringing peace and stability to a huge area of Kenya.
“The challenges faced by the rural villagers of Kenya are like a microcosm for the rest of the world; like us, they are called on to join in new forms of collaboration if they wish to survive and thrive in these turbulent times. I hope my photographs convey at least
a small fragment of the complex story of Ushirikiano that
is emerging in this remote part of Africa.”
- Chris Jordan
The work of Chris Jordan explores contemporary mass culture from a variety of photographic and conceptual perspectives, connecting the viewer viscerally to the enormity and power of humanity’s collective will. Edge-walking the lines between art and activism, beauty and horror, abstraction and representation, the near and the far, the visible and the invisible, his work asks us to consider our own multi-layered roles in becoming more conscious stewards of our complex and embattled world. Jordan’s works are exhibited and published worldwide.
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