I CAN FEEL THE HEAT UNDER MY FEET.
12 pm
no shadow casted
space becomes liminal
people like pieces on a board
controlled by some kind of other force
entering and leaving the space
as on stage in a rush
where path ways cross
it’s quiet
yet the call to prayers, or something else will disrupt the silence and make people move on
grey ribbons meandering around pot holes, concrete cracks, and planted lettuce
some visible, some fading away
hardened by tires and people’s feet through generations
followed blindly, rarely questioned
like a rehearsed choreography
the farmer tells me “I can feel the heat under my feet”
I wonder what happens when we walk new routes
when we acknowledge the established ones
yet we decide to walk elsewhere
because the ground covered in weeds
where the farmer stands while talking to me
is much cooler than the bare ground in front of us.
first row Dakpema Island
second row Waterworks
third row Old Airfield
I can feel the heat under my feet is a photographic exploration of three sites in Tamale, Ghana—Waterworks, Dakpema Island, and the Old Airfield. As part of the larger research project Tamale’s Inner-Urban Ecologies, this work examines the liminality of these spaces by photographing them at 12 PM, a time when the absence of shadows flattens depth and making movement appear isolated. The works focuses on pathways shaped by humans.
“I can feel the heat under my feet” includes panoramas that highlight the expansiveness of these spaces, single images that trace pathways, and text that reflects on fleeting interactions, silent choreography, and the unconscious adherence to well-worn routes. How do we experience and adapt to our surroundings, and what shifts when we become aware of the ground beneath us?
RESEARCHERS
[Applied] Foreign Affairs
Apoorva Thapa, Yunxi Wu, Alice Bazzichelli, Malea Noll
University of Development Studies
Ihsan Chimsi Abubakari, Sadia Halima Musah
Nuku Studio
Fibi Afloe, Amelie Koerbs
TEACHING
[Applied] Foreign Affairs
Baerbel Mueller with Daniil Zhiltsov and Kush Badhwar
University of Development Studies
Elizabeth Apuseyime
Nuku Studio
Nii Obodai