In the area of Ghana where the Volta River empties into the South Atlantic a long spit of land is being eroded. In the twentieth century sea levels rose worldwide by 17cm and this, coupled with seasonal storms that pound the coastline, means that people’s homes are being lost to sand and water. Nyani Quarmyne has photographed several villages near the small town of Ada Foah. He shows us some of the people in the ruins of their houses, which many cannot leave as they have nowhere else to go. Quarmyne makes a point of telling us their names, Numour Puplampo and Vincent Tetteh Teye and others, and meets their eyes through his camera.

Quarmyne began to make photographs in 2008 and since then has gained a strong reputation as a documentary photographer, working for many agencies and publications. In the way he works with his subjects over many months and his desire to tell us the whole story, Quarmyne’s work resonates with the Western traditions of documentary photography. His photographs, however, are of West African people with whom he has a cultural and social affinity and whose stories he himself is implicated in.

Biography

Born in 1973 in India. He now lives and works in Accra, Ghana. His practice is exclusively photographic. Quarmyne’s work centers on social justice, humanitarian and environmental themes.

Clients and publications include the African Women’s Development Fund, the Australian Agency for International Development, BasicNeeds, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, CHF International, The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, The Herald Magazine (UK), The Independent (UK), the Institute of Development Studies, the International Development Research Centre, the Internet Society, ONE, Save the Children, The Sunday Times (Australia), and UNICEF, amongst others.

Joint winner for press / reportage photography at the Rencontres de Bamako in 2011.

Works in the Show

We Were Once Three Miles from the Sea, 2010 – 11

“Though you sweep the hut in the sand, the sand will not disappear.”

Totope, Ada Foah, Ghana

Pigment prints on baryta

Photographs Courtesy of the artist

We Were Once Three Miles from the Sea, 2010 – 11

“We were once three miles from the Sea.”

Totope, Ada Foah, Ghana

Pigment prints on baryta

Photographs Courtesy of the artist

We Were Once Three Miles from the Sea, 2010 – 11

“This is my home.”

Ada Foah, Ghana

Pigment prints on baryta

Photographs Courtesy of the artist

We Were Once Three Miles from the Sea, 2010 – 11

A Beach in my Living Room

Totope, Ada Foah, Ghana

Pigment prints on baryta

Photographs Courtesy of the artist

We Were Once Three Miles from the Sea, 2010 – 11

Homeowner and Disappearing Home

Totope, Ada Foah, Ghana

Pigment prints on baryta

Photographs Courtesy of the artist

We Were Once Three Miles from the Sea, 2010 – 11

Collins in a Window

Totope, Ada Foah, Ghana

Pigment prints on baryta

Photographs Courtesy of the artist

We Were Once Three Miles from the Sea, 2010 – 11

Paulina’s House

Lolonyakope, Ada Foah, Ghana

Pigment prints on baryta

Photographs Courtesy of the artist