A. J. Duarte “Guiné-Bissau 1990”

In February 1990, I was invited to photograph Guinea-Bissau ́s urban music scene. The project was quickly abandoned for lack of funding.
In Bissau, I photographed the hospital, the slaughterhouse, the streets. Outside the cities, the fanado initiation rites. In the Bijagós Islands, the beach, the local fishing community.
On the 11th of February came the news of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison. At the end of the month, the Carnival.

Shot in black and white 35mm, Guiné-Bissau 1990 is António Júlio Duarte ́s first accomplished body of work. The book stands by itself, a companion to the author ́s earlier Japan Drug.