MMXXIII — VOL. LIII, 'Helix' by Adam Bartos
"I visited southern Senegal in 2018, working with chef Pierre Thiam, on a cookbook devoted to the indigenous super-grain fonio, that he has promoted globally. Fonio is highly nutritious, and needs little moisture to flourish in the semi-arid region. In colonial times, the French largely replaced fonio in the local diet with imported rice from their other colonies, resulting in its near extinction as a food source in Senegal.The Helix photos were taken at a disused gas station I noticed around the corner from our hotel in Ziguinchor, where we had gone to photograph the fonio harvest. Its Shell sign was tilted over and its formerly crisp modernist lines were burnished with a dense patina. Inside, a collection of resting objects was bathed in a faint indigo light.
It occurred to me that the gas station could be seen as a corporate ghost island, like the imported rice, eventually merging with the surrounding vernacular and entwining with it, helix like." —Adam Bartos
8.75" x 12"
28 Printed Pages; 13 plates
80# Mohawk Uncoated Ultra White
Printed by Meridian Printing