Alan Gilbert on “Indian Theater” – Criticism – e-flux

Alan Gilbert on “Indian Theater” – Criticism – e-flux

In November 1969, a group of Native activists sailed across San Francisco Bay and occupied Alcatraz Island, home to the infamous prison that had closed in 1963. The occupation lasted until the summer of 1971, when federal authorities besieged the island by cutting off the electricity and water supply before government agents and local police removed the dozen or so remaining inhabitants. The year 1969 also saw the publication of the pamphlet “Indian Theatre: An Artistic Experiment in Process,” written collaboratively by Lloyd Kiva New (Cherokee), Rolland Meinholtz (Cherokee), and students at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It called for the combination of contemporary theater practices with performative and ritual aspects of Native societies in an effort to bring marginalized Native stories and cultural forms to a reimagined stage.

The large survey exhibition “Indian Theater: Native Performance, Art, and Self-Determination since 1969,” curated by Candice Hopkins (Carcross / Tagish First Nation) at the Hessel Museum of Art, opens with archival documents in vitrines highlighting these two historical moments. Pages of “Indian Theatre: An Artistic Experiment in Process” are given pride of place at the entrance next to undated, grainy black-and-white videos of Native performances in dialogue with its ideas. The pamphlet’s spirit continues in another early gallery that projects videos of full-length performances by the New York City–based Spiderwoman Theater, founded in 1976 and currently the longest-running female Native performance troupe. Various printed materials pertaining to the group accompany the videos, which present adaptations of Aristophanes and cabaret.

For millennia, Native artistic expression has been sewn into the activities and objects of everyday life, and while societies and cultural practices constantly change, the emphasis throughout “Indian Theater” on performance would seem to be a way of activating the works on display and not have them exist as static artworks fastened to a wall, plinth, or floor. Nearly all of the exhibition’s painted and sculptural works feature objects that are always in close proximity to a body: shirts, shoes, gloves, condoms, masks, earrings, etc. Bob Boyer (Métis) painted geometric Native designs on blankets, while Dyani White Hawk’s (Sičangu Lakota) conjoined abstract panels are inspired by Lakota beadwork and quillwork.

Sometimes the Native body is on display, as in James Luna’s (Payómkawichum / Ipai / Mexican) video The Artifact Piece (1987), in which he rests motionless on his back in a display case wearing only a loincloth as museumgoers gawk. Dana Claxton (Lakota) takes the nearly opposite approach with four LED fireboxes (2018–19) that feature photographic portraits of individual figures with their faces and torsos covered by beaded objects, which the wall text notes are gifts and inheritances from friends and family. This is the subject as constituted by relation and literally embedded in social and cultural formations. In Claxton’s illuminated images, the sitters are hidden and effaced while simultaneously enhanced in being scaffolded and supported by the largesse bequeathed to them by the living and the dead.

This “right to opacity,” as Édouard Glissant terms it, takes a significant twist in “Indian Theater,” albeit perhaps unfortunately tucked away in the didactics. Labels for both Beau Dick’s (Kwakwaka’wakw, Musgamakw Dzawada’enuxw First Nation) mask Yagis (ca. 2005) and a display case of vinyl recordings of Native songs and music discuss work not meant for general consumption. In 2012, Dick took forty of his masks from his commercial gallery and ceremonially burned them; three LPs of field recordings made by ethnomusicologist Ida Halpern contain songs that were not intended to be heard by people outside of the community where they were performed, although other recordings of Native songs were made available for museumgoers to play on a turntable.

Emphasizing performance, as “Indian Theater” insistently does, is a way of keeping the works on display open-ended and in conceptual flux for audiences viewing the show. The exhibition also features an extensive set of Native performances throughout its duration. When Native activists took over Alcatraz Island, they read an at-times-sardonic proclamation addressed “To the Great White Father and All His People.” Documentary footage of its recitation appears in Sky Hopinka’s (Ho-Chunk Nation / Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians) video Sunflower Siege Engine (2022) along with landscapes shot in what feels like a 1970s, blissed-out Super 8 mm film aesthetic. Self-determination as a performative mode need not be dour and severe, as Sunflower Siege Engine in particular and “Indian Theater” in general affirm.

Central Ohio Indigenous group reaches Land Back campaign goal

Central Ohio Indigenous group reaches Land Back campaign goal

“We are losing our ways,” said Ty Smith, project director for Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio (NAICCO).

“Unfortunately, as each generation passes, the less and less of our identity is there and exists as it once did. We’re even at a point in time where you know we talk about putting our elders to rest with tears in their eyes. And those tears represent their concern as to what’s going to happen, what’s going to become of the next generations to follow,” Smith continued. “And [the elders] see so much in terms of how native people have conformed to mainstream society, how we’ve become more and more assimilated, how the campaigns of ‘kill the Indian and save the man’ have actually been successful and are still playing themselves out today. And it becomes very concerning.”

As a means of preserving these ways, in 2019 NAICCO launched a Land Back fundraising campaign aimed at purchasing property it could call its own. At the time, leadership stressed the importance of having a home, which would allow the organization to strengthen its programming and maintain a greater sense of ownership over its future. “What our people have talked about is how awesome it would be to call a place home, here in Central Ohio. A place where we could gather, where we could be ourselves, and where we can be open to expressing the parts of our lives that are important to us,” Smith told Matter News in 2022

In the run up to Native Heritage Month, which continues through the end of November, NAICCO’s Land Back campaign surpassed the $250,000 goal set by organizers. The center has continued to fundraise, though, with an aim of purchasing at least 20 acres of land as a home base centered on conservation and the preservation of Native traditions. These traditions, Smith said, are essential to preserving Native culture, and Indigenous people have “put everything on the line – even their own lives – to make sure that these ways [are] carried on.”

The term “Land Back” emerged about a decade ago, according to Nick Tilsen, president and CEO of NDN Collective. First used by Indigenous artists, the mantra has since evolved into a wider anti-colonial stance and a call for Native sovereignty. Its roots, however, run far deeper, stretching back centuries to when Natives were first forced off of ancestral lands. “Our people have been fighting … to reclaim lands since colonization,” Krystal Two Bulls, director of NDN Collective’s Land Back campaign, said in a 2021 interview with Teen Vogue.

But Smith said the Land Back NAICCO campaign differs from the broader movement both in scale and approach. “We can’t operate like a nation. We aren’t a tribe. We’re a humble little, non-profit, urban Indian center in Columbus. And so, everything that we’re going to do is by way of our own hand,” he said.

Smith said that what’s most meaningful to the organization is continuing to write a new, successful chapter so that urban Native people in Ohio can feel a deeper connection to their cultural roots, while also building a greater sense of inter-tribal community.

“Some people will think, originally, Land Back is about just that in itself. And a big part is that it is about reparations – now, rightfully so. There are nations that live in their ancestral homelands, and they have all the right and reason to seek Land Back to these sacred sites, these ceremonial grounds and places that have been there since time and memorial,” Smith said. “We understand that we have to live in a modern way. It’s been about planting seeds. Seeds are traditions and culture. What we’re really saying is that we’re investing in our youth. This is us putting our best foot forward, all of the strength of our energy forward to try and create this space that they can call home. It allows and lends itself for them to hang on to who they are.”

2023 Art Rooney Award: Jaguars Foye Oluokun Nominated

2023 Art Rooney Award: Jaguars Foye Oluokun Nominated

JACKSONVILLE – Foyesade Oluokun has been nominated for the 2023 Art Rooney Award.

Oluokun was one of 32 nominees – one per team – announced by the NFL Wednesday morning. The award recognizes players who demonstrate the qualities of on-field sportsmanship – including fair play, respect for the game and opponents, and integrity in competition.

Oluokun, the NFL’s leading tackler the past two seasons, signed with the Jaguars as an unrestricted free agent free agent in the 2022 offseason. He has been a team captain both seasons with the Jaguars.

Here’s What’s Going in Indian Country, November 23rd —29th

Here’s What’s Going in Indian Country, November 23rd —29th
This week in Indian Country, there are plenty of events for everyone to enjoy. From powwows to Indigenous People’s Month celebrations to poetry slams, here is Native News Online’s weekly round-up of arts, culture, and entertainment offerings around Indian Country.

Annual Native American Holiday Market
Collinsville, IL
November 24-25, 2023

Join in for the most unique shopping experience of the holidays. Meeting the artists from around the United States that have hand-made these one-of-a-kind items for your precious gift-giving ideas. This annual event will take place at the Gateway Convention Center opening to the public at 9:00 a.m. both days. Some are traditional, and some are contemporary pieces brought to you by artists from the Navajo, Cherokee, Ho-Chunk Zuni, Hopi, and Santo Domingo tribal affiliations, just to name a few.

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Native American Heritage Day: Honoring the Jingle Dress Dance
Washington, DC
November 24, 2023

This Native American Heritage Day, learn about the origin and significance of the jingle dress and Jingle Dress Dance with dancers Misty Solorio (Brokenhead Ojibway First Nation/Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation), Jennifer Night Bird Miller (Red River Métis), and Nathan Solorio (Brokenhead Ojibway First Nation/Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation). Performances: 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m. at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.  

Native American Music and Arts Festival
Tucson, AZ
November 24, 2023

The brainchild of celebrated Yaqui artist Gabriel Ayala, the first annual Native American Arts and Music Festival commemorates the cultural impact of Native Americans in southern Arizona. The festival will be held, fittingly, the day after Thanksgiving and will showcase several noted Native American artists, artisans and musicians. The Native American Artist and Music Festival will take place on the Hotel Congress plaza from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and will include food, vendors, craftsmen, indigenous music, and more. 

Re-thinking Thanksgiving: A Native American Perspective
Hornell, NY
November 25, 2023

This lively, content-based presentation will give an overview of the history of this very misunderstood holiday. Based on the only primary source document that chronicles the “First Thanksgiving” and using a quiz-style format, participants will learn accurate and culturally appropriate information about the English settlers at Plymouth and the Wampanoag, the Native people who inhabited that area. This presentation is suited for all adults and families with children in 4th grade or higher.

Portland Indigenous Marketplace
Portland, OR
November 24, 2023

Explore creations from Indigenous and Black artists and entrepreneurs at the Portland Indigenous Marketplace. The event supports creators by providing barrier-free, culturally respectful spaces to grow their small businesses and educating the public about their ancestry. 

Native American Heritage Month Celebration Exhibition
Abilene, TX
November 22-23, 2023

The Grace Museum is collaborating with Abilene Christian University’s Introduction to Public History: Interpreting American Pasts course to create monthly exhibitions that coincide with different cultural heritage months throughout the year. These exhibitions highlight the narratives of various cultural groups that are integral to Abilene’s history while weaving these stories into the broader historical fabric of the United States.

Cabazon Indio Powwow
Indio, CA
November 24-26, 2023

The 40th annual celebration includes Native American dance contests for all ages, bird singing, and drum contests. A wide variety of traditional Native American food, hand-crafted jewelry, dream catchers, and other arts and crafts will also be available.

Native American Heritage Poetry & Art Slam
New York, NY
November 25, 2023

Join us in person at the Hamilton Grange Library for a Poetry Slam in celebration of Native American Heritage Month. You can either select your favorite poem from an Indigenous American writer or read your own material.

Native Made Market
Rochester, NY
November 25, 2023

On Small Business Saturday, shop local, shop small, shop “Native Made”. The Native Made Market gathering brings Native creatives, entrepreneurs, and educators from various Nations, as well as activists, advocates, and allies, together to immerse folks into Native culture in an engaging, meaningful, and impactful way. The market is free and open to the public and will include presenters such as storytellers, Perry Ground, and opportunities for guests to shop Native-made apparel and accessories, bead art, paintings, sculptures, and more.

2023 Annual Native American Feast
Glen Cove, NY
November 26, 2023

Demonstrations & hands-on activities will be ongoing, including pottery-making, authentic native food displays with sampling, medicinal plant displays, primitive tools & artifacts, corn-grinding, face painting with natural rock, using an atlatl, fire-building without matches & on-site cooking; plus, help make 12-foot long dugout canoe. Films on Native American culture/legends will be shown throughout the day. 

American Indian Heritage Month Social & Craft Market
Tucson, AZ
November 24, 2023

Experience the life and history of several nations in this annual Native American Indian Heritage Month Social and Craft Market event to keep our 10,000-year-old culture alive for the 21st century and beyond. Here, you will find authentic artwork, crafts, demonstrations of their songs, and dances to expand your knowledge of American Indian ways. Come for the blessing. Visit the information booth and shop for holiday gifts.

Teejop & Beyond: The Seven Fires Prophecies
Madison, WI
November 28, 2023

Dawn Moneyhan, an enrolled member of The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, will tell the story of the Seven Fires Prophecies recorded by many Indigenous tribes & elders over many generations. These prophecies tell the story of Turtle Island, covering the past, present, and future. They speak of the colonization of this land and warn of the many crises we face today, offering us much-needed information to make our choices for tomorrow. The Seven Fires Prophecies speak of the need for everyone to come together, reconnect with Mother Earth and each other, and light the 8th and final fire that will lead to generations of peace.

Native American Dance and Music
Las Vegas, NV
November 28, 2023

Dance has been the defining element of Derrick Suwaima Davis’ life. A master at maneuvering five rattan hoops around his body, he is the only adult seven-time Hoop Dance World Champion. He conveys the Hopi story of creation through his hoops — creating intricate patterns while keeping time to the singing and drumming of Ryon Polyquaptewa.

Celebrate Native American Heritage Month
Decorah, IA
November 28, 2023

Join in for a meet and greet and presentation by Bill Quackenbush of the Ho-Chunk Nation titled, “Ho-Chunk History & Presence in Iowa: The Neutral Grounds,” from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Dahl Centennial Union, Nobel Room at Luther College. 

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Together, we can educate, enlighten, and empower.

November is celebrated as “Native American Heritage Month.” At Native News Online, we amplify Native voices and share our relatives’ unique perspectives every day of the year. We believe every month should celebrate Native American heritage. 
If you appreciate our commitment to Native voices and our mission to tell stories that connect us to our roots and inspire understanding and respect, we hope you will consider making a donation this month to support our work. For those who commit to a recurring donation of $12 per month or more, or make a one-time donation of $150 or greater, we’re excited to offer you a copy of our upcoming Indian Boarding School publication and access to our quarterly Founder’s Circle meetings and newsletter.  

About The Author
Kaili Berg
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Staff Reporter
Kaili Berg (Aleut) is a member of the Alutiiq/Sugpiaq Nation, and a shareholder of Koniag, Inc. She is a staff reporter for Native News Online and Tribal Business News. Berg, who is based in Wisconsin, previously reported for the Ho-Chunk Nation newspaper, Hocak Worak. She went to school originally for nursing, but changed her major after finding her passion in communications at Western Technical College in Lacrosse, Wisconsin.


Audo Breathes New Life Into the 70-Year-Old Penguin Rocking Chair

Audo Breathes New Life Into the 70-Year-Old Penguin Rocking Chair

The rocking chair’s appeal can be attributed to something beyond the physical motion inherent to its form, for the rocking chair is a piece of furniture inviting unhurried contemplation and relaxed playfulness only matched by its swinging cousin, the hammock. There you are, perpetually moving, but never really getting anywhere. But that’s all part of its charm. The Penguin Rocking Chair is a classic representation of that intermediary state between sitting and moving, our personal favorite rocking chair, all done with a visual lightness that looks every bit contemporary today as when it was first revealed in 1953.

Like many things said and done, the rocking chair as we know it is often attributed as an invention of American polymath, Benjamin Franklin. But according to Witold Rybczynski, author of Now Sit Me Down, a comprehensive history of the chair, this is not correct. A bill for a “Nurse Chair with rockers” crafted by Pennsylvania cabinetmaker Solomon Fussell in 1742 was the first formal mention of a rocking chair in writing. Timelines tracking the first mention of rocking chairs also reveal a 6-legged predecessor common to Sweden called the “gungstol” (now readily available today in spirit as IKEA’s POÄNG rocker, sans those 6 legs).

Vintage 1950s print advertisement of the original Penguin Dining Chair, with both a photograph in black in white alongside a side profile illustration of the chair's wrought iron legs.

The mid-century years are not typically the era most associated with the rocking chair. Yet, lo and behold, there was Ray and Charles Eames in 1950 with their playful fiberglass single-shell RAR armchair, and George Nakashima’s single-armed 1960’s design. Before that, Hans Wegner’s Shaker and Windsor inspired rocking chair had the Danish relaxing all the way back in 1944.

And so too, iconic Danish furniture designer Ib Kofod-Larsen imagined his own rocking chair, the Penguin, in 1953. It was one in a series of seats, a variant of a more traditionally legged dining chair of the same name. And now furniture brand Audo has revitalized the design with a few modern touches.

Three versions of the Penguin Chair by furniture designer Ib Kofod-Larsen; first chair is a dining chair with dark brown leather upholstery, middle chair is Penguin Rocker in tan boucle with black rockers, and third on the right is a dining chair with baseball glove tan leather upholstery

Kofod-Larsen’s original design for Christensen & Larsen featured wrought iron framework, a cushioned upholstered seat, and an angled molded birch back that gave the chair’s profile a sort of mid-century silhouette on skis vibe. The design abides by Kofod-Larsen’s Danish Modern dictum: “Design furniture for everyday use, not to impress people.” You can still occasionally find originals in varying degrees of condition online and in vintage shops.

All dark walnut seat and back Penguin Rocker set in a room with wood flooring and dark green-gray walls.

Dark walnut back with tan leather seat Penguin Rocker set in a room with wood flooring and dark green-gray walls.

Overhead view of Penguin Rocker in brown leather upholstery set across a pebble textured rug.

Two variations of the Penguin chair, one with 4-legs with natural oak back and light gray upholstered seat with black metal legs, the second with walnut wood back, dark brown leather seat, and all black rocker base. Both are staged angled back to back in a concrete floor room with a light gray wall in the background.

Each chair is made to order, with 7 standard upholstery colors available for the fully upholstered edition or 9 standard upholstery colors for the wood back rocking chair model (alongside the choice between natural oak or walnut for the seat’s back).

Audo’s revived Penguin Rocking Chair maintains the original’s sculptural open design, offered as an all-wood curved back and seat chair, one with wood, leather, or fabric upholstered seat and back, or a combination of both, with all versions supported by a steel frame. Today the Penguin Rocking Chair’s cut steel frame is welded by robotic welding and then powder coated; the seat and back are each made from bent plywood with the rockers CNC carved from ash before being painting.

Woman with braided long hair in a ribbed off-white sweater leaning slightly forward while seated upon a Penguin Rocker Chair with leather upholstered seat and walnut back.

Detail cropped shot of Penguin Rocker Seat's all-black rocker base and black metal frame construction, set across a wood floor.

What’s particularly exciting for enthusiasts of Kofod-Larsen’s timeless design is now you can get his rocking chair with an all-wood seat and back, or with Kvadrat wool worsted upholstery, boucle, or leather in a dizzying range of colors and textures (custom upholstery available through Audo’s upholstery program at an extra cost). The color options open up the Penguin Rocking Chair to take on a contemporary presence transcending its vintage origins, likely to surprise the uninitiated that people were rocking out in style 70 years ago in such modernist fashion.

Overhead angled shot of the curved walnut wood back of the Penguin Rocker Chair, with light caramel leather seat.

The Penguin Rocking Chair is available starting at $1,165 with the fully upholstered edition priced starting at $1,880, both at us.audocph.com.

This post contains affiliate links, so if you make a purchase from an affiliate link, we earn a commission. Thanks for supporting Design Milk!

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.

The Photographer Who Quit His Day Job to Travel Off-Grid

The Photographer Who Quit His Day Job to Travel Off-Grid
Cotopaxi Volcano, Ecuador, off-grid photography by Dan Grec

When the photographer Dan Grec was 27 years old, he decided to make a radical change. “I wanted to put myself out there and attempt something enormous,” he remembers now. After leaving his software engineering job, he hit the road. During that first off-grid photography trip, his Jeep Wrangler covered more than 54,000 kilometers, spanning the Pan-American Highway. 

Now an experienced overlander and adventurer, Grec has traveled to some of the most inaccessible corners of the globe. The photographer has been an ambassador for Renogy, a brand offering leading solutions in sustainable solar energy, for eight years now. During that time, he’s driven a Renogy-equipped vehicle across the coastline of Africa (35 counties in all) and, more recently, embarked on a once-in-a-lifetime expedition through the Australian continent. 

“With the near endless sun in Australia, the no-hassle system performed flawlessly in the most wild and remote destinations, including a ten-day crossing of the world’s most remote 4×4 track, over 1,000 miles without seeing another person or vehicle,” the adventurer remembers. These days, he’s working on a brand-new vehicle build using REGO, Renogy’s flagship off-grid solar power system. Once it’s ready, he’ll travel through the remote corners of Iceland and the Faroe Islands before exploring other parts of Europe. 

We asked him to tell us more about his off-grid photography, the nights he’s spent in the wilderness, the routes that put his gear (and willpower) to the test, and the sunrises that took his breath away.

Wildebeest, Masai Mara, Kenya

What inspired you to embark on your epic trip around Africa, starting in 2016? Did you know where the journey would take you when it started? 

“After the Pan-American Highway adventure, I ran out of money, and I had to get another desk job to rebuild my savings account. I had been working at my new software job for less than a week when I realized that sitting at a desk for the rest of my life was not going to make me happy, and it was not something I could do forever.

“Early on, while working and saving money, I didn’t have a specific destination in mind. I just knew I needed to build a savings account so I could once again buy freedom from going to work every day. The parts of South America that stand out in my memories are when I was far from civilization and pushing my abilities to their limit, and so the more I thought about a future adventure, the more Africa fascinated me. I knew if I was going to ship my house-on-wheels vehicle all the way there, I should attempt to see as much of Africa as I possibly could.” 

Dawson City, Yukon

Can you walk us through a “day in your life” on the road? What does a typical day look like, if there is such a thing? 

“I try as hard as I can to camp ‘wild’—just out in the wilderness away from people and infrastructure. Most mornings I wake with the sun, and I enjoy making coffee and breakfast in the early morning before the heat kicks in. 

“Depending on where I am, I will drive for an hour or two and find myself in some kind of small town or village where I will wander a local street market, buy street food for lunch. If needed, I re-supply on food, gas and water. I love asking locals where I should explore or go next, and so with any luck, I will wind up at a waterfall, or lake, or mountain, or some other beautiful place I can hike and explore and hopefully camp for the night.”

Simpson Desert

In your years practicing off-grid photography, what was the most remote area you’ve ever visited so far?

“In Australia, together with my Dad, we drove the length of the Canning Stock Route, commonly called the world’s most remote 4×4 route. The track is 1,050 miles through the emptiness of the Western Australian deserts, and for ten days and nights, we did not see a single other person or vehicle. We were extremely far out, and very much on our own.

“The feeling of isolation was intense, and I was hyper aware that we would have to solve any problems on our own. Nobody was coming to save us. The Renogy system we had to power the fridge and run our water pump was absolutely flawless not only for this extremely remote section, but all around Australia in the intense heat and horrid corrugations.”

Gibb River Road, Western Australia

What are some misconceptions people have about your life on the road—or a life “off-grid” in general? 

“I think many people assume living on the road means eating poorly, something like tinned food or ramen noodles for every meal. While this may have been the case twenty years ago, the advent of quality 12v fridges, solar and lithium batteries means this is no longer the case. My partner Katie and I cook and eat fresh meals with plenty of vegetables every day, and we always have plenty of fruit and healthy snacks in the fridge.

“I think people also assume life on the road must be very lonely and isolating, while the opposite is often true. Everywhere on the planet, there are people exploring, and they’re always looking to make connections with others on the road. Furthermore, locals are proud of their country and town, and they always jump at the chance to meet a foreigner and show them around their small part of the world. While on the road, I’ve had a more vibrant social life than when living in a city and going to work every day.”

Burundi

What is the most powerful memory you have from all your years of traveling and shooting off-grid photography? 

“On many occasions around Africa, I would arrive in a small mud hut village right around sunset. I was often exhausted, and felt very vulnerable. In all honesty, I even felt a little scared, and was worried how local people would react to a strange person showing up in their village in a big four wheel drive.

“On every single occasion, I was welcomed warmly by the village, and often locals tried to give me food and water, and were very happy to show me a place I could camp safely for the night. These people were not doing this because they wanted money, or anything like that, they were doing it because they’re friendly people, and welcoming strangers is part of the culture in Africa. I will remember the friendliness of the people all across Africa that I will remember as long as I live.”

An Echidna in Australia

What have been the most challenging aspects of life on the road? Have there been any moments where you considered giving up, and if so, what motivated you to continue?

“There are many challenging aspects of life on the road, and depending on how exhausted I am on any given day, a different one will rise up to be the most irritating. Heat, humidity, and dust are extremely tiring after years on the road, as are bureaucracy, corruption and trying to achieve things like applying for visas or crossing an international border in a completely different culture.

“No matter what the frustration of the day is, I have to remind myself that I’ve chosen to be there, and that life on the road is much more interesting and exciting than life sitting at a desk, which is exactly what I wanted. Often, I just need to drink a huge bottle of cold water from the fridge, eat a snack, and take a huge deep breath to consider what is actually bugging me.

“I’ve never seriously thought about giving up, though when I feel burnt out, I try very hard to slow way down, maybe even setup on a beach somewhere and to not move for a week. I will swim, surf, cook and eat good meals and make sure I get plenty of sleep to recharge my batteries and make sure I’m ready to take on new challenges.”

How have your travels influenced how you feel about the future and about sustainability? Have they given you hope that we can live more sustainably? 

“Without a doubt, my travels have taught me that people around the world are generally good, and we all want the same things—to be happy and to be safe. While the media shows us a lot of doom and gloom, there is an enormous amount of good in the world. 

“In terms of sustainability, I’ve seen solar and wind farms in every country on the planet, and it always brought a smile to my face to see locals crowded around a mud hut covered in solar panels they’re all using to charge cell phones and flashlights. As the price of solar and quality batteries continues to fall, more and more people will adopt them, and we will have a much better chance at a sustainable future.” 

Ulu?u-Kata Tju?a National Park

What’s next for your off-grid photography adventures?

“I’m currently building and outfitting a new overland vehicle with the goal of increased interior living space to travel to much colder climates. I have integrated an insulated living habitat onto a Jeep Wrangler, so I can go anywhere on the planet while being warm and dry. This vehicle has much higher energy needs than my previous ones, including an induction cooktop, large fridge/freezer, and diesel heater, so I require a much more comprehensive electrical system.

“I am outfitting the vehicle with a Renogy REGO system including self-heating smart Lithium batteries, flexible solar panels, charge controllers, and system monitoring. This system will ensure I can power all my vehicle systems, cameras, and laptop no matter how remote I explore.”

Further reading in off-grid photography:

Portraits of a Community Living Off the Grid in a Remote Spanish Ecovillage

A Powerful Portrait of Living Off the Grid in Northern Canada

A Look Inside a Protest Camp on the Fringes of London

Discover More