Across the globe, an estimated 10% of people are without readily available clean water close to where they live. The situation is more dire in Ethiopia, where artist Aïda Muluneh was born in 1974. About 40% of its population lacks access to clean water for drinking and hygiene within their homes. This vital chore of fetching water disproportionately burdens the women and children, who trek an average distance of 3.7 miles daily, as reported by Oxfam. Muluneh, through a Wateraid project backed by the H&M Foundation, has been vocalising these harrowing truths through her art.
In her powerful series Water Life (2018), the visual narrative portrays solitary figures against the otherworldly backdrop of Ethiopia’s Dallol salt flats. These figures, carrying jerry cans and digging for water, are depicted with striking attire and wings, exuding a sense of victory and power. Muluneh’s work artfully twists traditional photojournalism tropes, repurposing images of societal struggle from global media to provoke a reevaluation of Africa’s portrayal, and to awaken a world numbed by the distant observer’s lens. “Art can carry deeper meaning beyond gallery walls,” Muluneh shared with Wateraid, “It can transmit powerful messages that resonate with diverse individuals, transcending age, class, race, and nationality.”
Her subsequent work shifts focus to address humanitarian crises such as neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in the project titled The Crimson Echo (2021). In this series, human forms are portrayed in a repetitive, abstract manner, partially concealed by natural surroundings and embellished with Ethiopian traditional body art. Her exhibition at Efiɛ Gallery in Dubai stands alongside other influential contemporary artists, like Prince Gyasi and Ismail Zaidy, who are cultivating a genuine narrative of daily life on the African continent.
Visit Efiɛ Gallery through 24 February for a closer look.
Article By: Saffron Ward
Photo Acknowledgments:
1. Aida Muluneh, In the Valley of My Shadow, (2021). Courtesy the artist and Efie Gallery Dubai.
2. Aida Muluneh, Knowing the Way to Tomorrow, (2018). Courtesy the artist and Efie Gallery Dubai.
