Within the range of African art there is little consideration for architecture. In the first place, this is a consequence of the non-durability of the used materials, such as adobe. However, the continent developed some remarkable and long-lasting styles. African architecture is a living architecture. As the word is passed on in oral cultures, the essential features of these building styles are handed over from generation to generation throughout the centuries.
Among the finest architectural expressions are the adobe mosques of Mali. The introduction of modern building methods and materials contains a serious threat to the continuity of this style, which needs permanent care. The thousands of small village mosques are the living tissue of this ancient and eco-friendly architecture. Too often they have to make way for new constructions.
This photographic project wants to be a tribute to the beauty of a little known architecture. The use of large format black & white photography reinforces form and structure of the mosques, and reveils their originality. The almost uniform manner of photographing stresses the wide variety in style. At the same time this is a work of conservation. Because just as old men die in Africa, without passing their secrets on to the young who orient themselves more and more to western values, old mosques disappear, while new constructions take their place.
