Featuring: Anthea Spivey

Article
By Ollie Nicholas
23/09/19

Subtitle

They Don’t Die, They Disappear: A photographic exploration into the albino community in Senegal.

Contents

1. Anthea Spivey

2. They Don’t Die, They Disappear

3. Ambition & Inspiration

New Minds 2019 Winner: Anthea Spivey

Anthea Spivey presents her beautiful and impactful project; ‘They Don’t Die, They Disappear’ which is a photographic exploration into the albino community in Senegal. Following her graduation from Leeds Arts University, Anthea is now based in Paris, but is keen to retain a focus on West Africa as she looks to develop a career in photojournalism.

Subtitle

They Don’t Die, They Disappear: A photographic exploration into the albino community in Senegal.

Contents

1. Anthea Spivey

2. They Don’t Die, They Disappear

3. Ambition & Inspiration

Anthea Spivey presents her beautiful and impactful project; ‘They Don’t Die, They Disappear’ which is a photographic exploration into the albino community in Senegal. Following her graduation from Leeds Arts University, Anthea is now based in Paris, but is keen to retain a focus on West Africa as she looks to develop a career in photojournalism.
1. Anthea Spivey

I am Anthea Spivey. I am a 22 year old Australian / New Zealand photographer that was brought up in Africa. I spent 16 years of my life between Tanzania and Senegal. I moved to the UK for university and have now made the move to France to pursue a career in photojournalism. I would describe my practice as documentary reportage photography. I tend to focus on stories regarding culture and current issues in African countries.

I was given my first camera by my grandfather when I was 8 years old in Sydney, Australia whilst visiting my grandparents. My grandfather took me aside and handed me an Olympus X-775. I used it until the batteries died and when I added more, I would use it until they died again. I realised at the time that this was a special moment between my grandfather and I, I just didn’t realise how much it would impact me. My life has revolved around photography from a very early age. My parents met because they shared a common interest in photography and had the same camera. They photographed my siblings and I growing up, so it was very natural for me to pick up the camera and start documenting things around me. I became interested in using photography as a means to share current issues when I was in high school. I started looking more seriously into media organisations that shared stories that made an impact. I found that people tend to engage more with a social issue when there is a visual element to the story. Images speak for themselves and have the ability to reach millions if they provoke an emotional impact from a person.

They Don’t Die, They Disappear by Anthea Spivey

2. They Don’t Die, They Disappear

They Don’t Die, They Disappear is a photographic exploration into the albino community in Senegal. Working alongside the charity, Club Albinos SN, I was able to meet and photograph people in the small West African nation living with albinism. The title of the series stems from an interesting story I was told by the founder of Club Albinos SN, El Hadji Gueye. He told me that growing up at school in Senegal, his teachers taught their students when on the topic of albinism that people with the condition didn’t die, they disappeared. This fuelled the stigma and mythology that was associated with it. He said that people with albinism were comparable to ghosts in terms of superstitions, and that they were to be feared.

They Don’t Die, They Disappear by Anthea Spivey

They Don’t Die, They Disappear by Anthea Spivey

What made you interested in exploring the albino community in Tanzania and Senegal?

I became interested in pursuing this project when I was reflecting on my time growing up in Tanzania. I spent ages 2-8 in Arusha, a city located close to the border of Kenya. I vividly remember seeing children with albinism always walking in pairs down the dirt roads because they were targeted if they were alone. In Tanzania, people with albinism are murdered and mutilated and often used in witchcraft or ‘black magic’. There are a tremendous amount of myths that are associated with albinism in Africa, including the idea that there is a link between albinism and incest in families, that people with albinism can cure HIV/AIDS, and even that their blood can find gold. Unfortunately, in many communities, people with albinism are alienated and ostracised for the colour of their skin. I soon learnt that Senegal is much more progressive in their societies approach to albinism, however, one of the biggest issues is the astronomical prices one is expected to pay to purchase sunscreen to protect their skin. In Senegal the average cost of a 50ml bottle of sunscreen is the equivalent of £12, and a 100ml bottle can cost upwards of £30. It was reported that people living with albinism in Senegal spend a 6th of their monthly salary on sunscreen alone.

They Don’t Die, They Disappear by Anthea Spivey

They Don’t Die, They Disappear by Anthea Spivey

Describe your experience visiting Senegal, and speaking and working with the albino community first hand. Was your project well received by the community?

My aims for this project was to not only raise awareness to the cause, but also to start the ball rolling on donating sunscreen to people that cannot afford it themselves. I started sharing the project in my university setting but also on social media and from that, the team of people involved with the charity including El Hadji, were able to raise over 300 bottles from across the world including Germany, Australia, the United States and England, to Club Albinos SN. Because of the stories that I was sharing through my photographs, change ensued. The people that I photograph were all aware of the aims of the project and understood that having their voices heard would start a conversation on what it means to have albinism in Africa.  

They Don’t Die, They Disappear by Anthea Spivey

They Don’t Die, They Disappear by Anthea Spivey

How do you hope that “They Don't Die, They Disappear” can create lasting change?

This is a project that I would like to be working on for the rest of my photographic career. Growing up in Senegal has given me the opportunity to be a member of the community, where there is a level of trust and responsibility in my role with the charity. I have photographed children who I want to watch grow up into wonderful adults and be able to document their journey along the way. My biggest challenge with They Don’t Die, They Disappear, is to make sure that down the line, in five or ten years, people still care about it. I think that every photographer who works on a project that is personal to them will always want it to have the same importance to someone else as it does to them, and this is a very special piece of work to me.  In order to do this I will make sure that I simply continue to work on it, and continue sharing the stories of people I meet along the way. Photography has a particularly powerful effect where it can start a conversation or enact a change. I will be making the project into a photo book in the future, and have been giving myself deadlines to meet. I have been working with a graphic designer to start realising what I am trying to do. The point of the photo book is to share stories and portraits of people with albinism whilst sustainably making a difference. The book will have a portion of the proceeds to go directly back to the charity to raise money for sunscreen and protective wear.

They Don’t Die, They Disappear by Anthea Spivey

3. Ambition & Inspiration

In terms of organisations or individuals that inspire me, there are countless. In particular, I admire the work of the Human Rights Watch immensely. They dedicate time to defend and advocate for those who cannot do it themselves. I am also a big supporter of the IWMF (International Women’s Media Foundation) who support women in journalism.

My photographic career is in its infancy at the moment, meaning I have many possibilities as to where to go next, but for the meantime, basing myself in Paris is what I have decided to do. I decided to make the move to Paris after university in Leeds because I want to continue working in Africa. From Paris I get to most African countries direct, whereas if I lived in a city like London, it would make getting to and from many places very challenging. Because I was raised in Senegal, I also picked up on speaking french, which definitely helps a lot when working in West Africa. The goal for my career is to pursue photojournalism and effectively start to have a focus on conflict. I am starting to look into the effects of conflict on communities and how they grow from it, primarily in African countries.

I often write down topics that I would like to be working on and try to build off it as much as I can. I will look at the ethics of a project, whether it is financially viable and achievable in a given amount of time. The next 2-5 years will be very important for me as I have many projects lined up that I would like to start working on, including being able to go back to Tanzania where I spent much of my childhood. I spend a lot of time looking at potential grants that would allow me to work on some of these projects.

They Don’t Die, They Disappear by Anthea Spivey

They Don’t Die, They Disappear by Anthea Spivey

In your opinion, how can creativity change the World?

In my opinion, creativity is absolutely vital in changing the world. Especially in these environmentally challenging times, having people who are dedicated to solving problems big or small, with a creative approach, is exactly how we will make a change in the world. I admire those who are using their social media as a platform to educate their audiences in creative ways whether it be with photography or videography to share stories that make a difference. 

  • Featuring: Anthea Spivey

Bibliography

Anthea Spivey (www.antheaspivey.com)

Social

Anthea Spivey (@anthea_spivey)

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