I typically don’t take staged images,” says Accra–based photographer Jessica Sarkodie. “My focus is on people and stories that are often underrepresented, so I really try to capture things as they are.” The 25-year-old photographer has a practiced eye when it comes to discovering the remarkable in the quotidian. Much of her tender, vibrant work explores the nuances of everyday life in her native Ghana, where she returned to in June 2016 after attending college in the United States. Sarkodie credits her time abroad with a sharpened perspective of her homeland, and more broadly, with strengthened powers of observation. “When I made that transition back, I noticed a lot of things that I overlooked because I’d always had it around me,” she says. “Returning to Ghana made things stand out to me in a way that they hadn’t before.” That heightened perception manifests itself in shots of the country’s unspoiled beaches, where even footprints in the sand feel like novelty, and in photos of the many working fishermen, who act as synecdoche for the country’s coastal setting. “Oftentimes, what regular people are doing seems so mundane that it goes unnoticed. I just try to be attentive to that,” says Sarkodie. We asked her to guide us through the below photographs, which tap into just that—Ghana’s quieter, oft-unseen corners—for a rich, real view of the country.
SOURCE: CN TRAVELER
More Stories
Lagos Rising: Meet the African Designers Who are Ushering in a New Guard of Fashion
My Life in Food: Idris Elba on African Cuisine and Cooking with his Mum
In His Imaginative Debut Feature, Walé Oyéjidé Brings Together Elements of His Life’s Work
What is Zellige Tile?
Ousmane Sembène at 100: A Tribute to Senegal’s ‘Father of African Cinema’
Inside an Ultra-exclusive Lodge on the Fringe of Etosha National Park
Tourists Flock to Nigerian Cave And Waterfall For Its ‘Healing Powers’
Morocco is Just as Worthy for a Sun Trip
African Markets Offer Unique Goods and Experiences
Get to Know East Africa’s Art Scene
Mo Ibrahim’s Index Looks at Africa’s State of Governance
France to Give Burkina Faso What It Wants