Sandra Shields and David Campion spent two months living with the Himba, and this book, a provocative melding of images and narrative, tells the kind of story that other publications mention only in passing, the story that is the unspoken subtext of many a travel adventure. The profound changes in the lives of the Himba – both gradual and immediate – which the authors bear witness to are a testament to those effecting indigenous people around the world.
Where Fire Speaks also takes an unflinching look at what we do in order to satisfy our obsession with documenting the exotic "other." The act of taking photographs lies at the heart of this book. The terrain being explored here is caught in the question that one Himba headman put to a film crew: "Why are you all so interested in us, anyway?"
Full of small revelations and grand gestures, Where Fire Speaks is a new kind of photo documentary book which depicts the once-exotic frontier as a place of great human truths. It provides a unique opportunity for readers to stand with the Himba and experience for themselves the meaning of the contact zone.
Includes more than 100 black and white photographs.
