Ghanaians

As we have traveled through Ghana I used to take out my old Polaroid to offer a portrait, a small token of friendship, to persons we met and got along well. In few minutes the photograph was ready, the negative stuck in my bag, smiles were shared and people got closer together. Friendships are instant in Ghana.

After a “pack” Polaroid photograph is peeled apart it can be handed out almost immediately, however the negative is very fragile and it takes hours or even days to dry completely. Actually they are not designed to be copied, the negative is meant to be discarded. I kept them all in my backpack: some of them stuck together, some got covered in children fingerprints or mold stains. But most of them survived. The quality is not as good as the original, they are full of scratches, stains and whatnot, but the spirit remains.

We shared many wonderful moments with the people portrayed here, we shared words, small gifts, photographs, time, rooms, smiles, cars, our good will. I want to take this sharing a little further and share these portraits with you.

The series has also been published in print: FACEBOOK