Release date: July 3, 2008
Contact: Elaine Justice at 404-727-0643 or elaine.justice@emory.edu

Q&A With Chester Higgins on “Nubian Dreams: Images of the Sudan”

Related Story: Ancient African Kingdom Captured in Emory Exhibit

What got you interested in the topic of Nubian civilization? What evoked your passion for this subject?

After photography, my passion is Egyptology. On my first trip to Egypt in 1973, I saw the ancient stone monuments of the pyramids, gigantic temples and exquisite tombs and marveled at their existence. I wondered about the technology it took to make them and why they were made.

All travelers to Egypt come away from their encounters with these monuments to an ancient faith with curiosity. The study of Egyptology or any ancient civilization is an ongoing work in progress.

After working in Egypt for a couple of decades, I began to look farther up the Nile from whence it comes out of Ethiopia — looking at ancient antiquity sites along its banks in Sudan and Ethiopia.

What types of challenges have you encountered in your work to document these civilizations?

These sites enjoy the protection of their national governments. In order to make dramatic exterior images at sunrise and sunset, usually outside of the normal visiting hours, it is necessary to seek permission from the antiquity bureaucracies.

How do you get permission to shoot photos in these areas of the world?

In order to secure permission, I have to make a proposal to the antiquity authorities detailing what sites I want to shoot, time of day or night, and giving my overall reason. Once accepted and approved, I pay the requisite fee for this access. Then I have to mount an expedition consisting of a guide, a driver and four-wheeled drive vehicle.

Getting permission takes time. You can't do this alone. You need a local person who has the experience of working with antiquity departments to carry out these negotiations. Often times this process can take weeks, or more than a month. I've found that it is best to start this process for access to the sites long before I arrive.

What’s the environment like in the Sudan?

Working in the desert heat is usually most bearable during the months between November and March, so I plan my trips accordingly. In addition, since nighttime shots are important to me, I try to plan my work between full moons. For my nighttime work, a moonless sky is ideal.

What are the synergies between the Schatten Gallery “Nubian Dreams” exhibition of your photos and the nearby Carlos Museum “Lost Kingdom” exhibition of Nubian artifacts??

Seeing the many pieces in the Lost Kingdom exhibit enables one to witness and appreciate artifacts found underground, made from stone and metal, by Nubians representing themselves and their beliefs. Seeing my photographs made in the Nubian desert enables the viewer to gain visual context of the place through remnants left behind above ground.

What is your favorite photo in the Schatten Gallery exhibition?

I don't have favorites. The next image that I make will always be my favorite.

Is there anything in particular that you recommend visitors consider and/or be open to when the visit the Schatten exhibition?

To me, these images capture the imagination of an ancient people. Here we see the human mind focused on issues of divinity and the sacred life. We see religious metaphors; we see what these ancient people constructed to their faith, believing in a God greater than themselves, with the power of life and death.

Emory University (www.emory.edu) is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate experience, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. Perennially ranked as one of the country's top 20 national universities by U.S. News & World Report, Emory encompasses nine academic divisions as well as the Carlos Museum, The Carter Center, the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, Georgia’s largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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