Sibylle Bergemann
The excerpt refers to a description of Sibylle Bergemann’s photo from her series of Dakar, Senegal in 2001. Bergemann, born in 1941 in Berlin, Germany, is best known for her documentation of East Germany during its Communist era. The German photographer studied photography in the Weissense district of Berlin and began her photography career in fashion. She later began to take other types of photos and photo essays typically in black and white. Bergemann was particularly interested in photos with a social context and significance. Bergemann’s photos of Senegal offer several different perspectives and angles with vivacious colors that breathe even more life into the present energy encapsulated. The photos offer a sense of relatable-ness despite the conscious distance between the observed and observer. Bergemann passed away in 2010.
““At the kiosk selling Nescafé in a suburb of Dakar, continents become united in the bitter flavour of the Nescafé granules. The cup of coffee would appear to have provided the occasion for the black man wearing the costume of a warring king’s son to lay down his weapons – a triumph for the multinational company.””
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