3 weeks 2 days to go

new destination: senegal

We’ve changed our plan a bit. Because of the heightened security situation in Mauritania, we’ve chosen to only remain in the country for a few days, rather than travel around for a month and cross the border into Mail. Instead we’ll travel down Mauritania on our way to Senegal. Senegal’s safer and it also borders with Mali, so we thought we could more safely travel this way.

Plus we get to visit an extra country, yay.

4 weeks 5 days to go

nothing happens

Seems like lately all we do is sit around waiting for the trip to begin. It’s boring. We research stuff about the countries we’re going to and check latest news in an attempt to weigh up the safety aspects of what we’re about to embark on. But other than that all we do is watch TV and eat. Suffice to say I’ve put on a few kilos, but I figure I’m gonna lose more than I’ve gained during the trip anyway, so it’s probably a good thing. Sort of feels like a hibernation period before the long, long journey.

And we still don’t know if we’re going to Mauritania.

5 weeks 0 days to go

attended colourful people exhibition

Last night we attended the unveiling of Colourful People; a group exhibition organised by local artists aiming to raise funds for The Hunger Project.

The Hunger Project is an international charity focussed on ending hunger in developing nations, with an emphasis on empowering local people.

untitled Chris Poore












Buyers raised nearly $3000 in the auction, with 100% of proceeds going to the worthy organisation.

As the only exhibiting photographer, I can’t decide if I was at an advantage or behind the eight ball. Still, I managed to sell three of the four pieces I submitted, one of which was the silhouetted basket carrier we use to promote Project Possession.

For the next two weeks, all unsold artworks are still available for sale. A PDF of the auction pamphlet with all the important information can be obtained if anyone’s interested. Contact me and I’ll arrange to have it emailed to you:

info@davidjobradley.com

6 weeks, 1 day to go

Move to Yanchep

Neither Sian nor I have ever owned our own house, which offers advantages to extended international travel. But, like anything, there’s always drawbacks.

Monday we moved out of where we were living into a friends place for the final six weeks before departure. While we’re always grateful for the support our friends offer us, Greg’s house is more than an hour north of the Perth city centre, in coastal town called Yanchep.

When everything you do is in the city, the logistical problems of living in a place as far as Yanchep are huge. We have to get up earlier, leave the house earlier, plan our entire day before leaving the house and ensure we have everything we need for the day before we go, because there ain’t no going back once we’ve left.

Couple that with the strain of planning a large-scale trip and you have mayhem.

But it is nice to be in a quiet coastal town, away from everyone and free of noise pollution.

8 weeks, 0 days to go

Article Published

















More coverage, this time in the Joondalup Weekender.

As always, thanks for all the support.

9 weeks, 3 days to go

Mauritanian Leg of Journey in Jeopardy

Recent terrorist activity in Mauritania has meant western governments are advising travelers to the country seriously rethink their plans.

The US has gone as far as withdrawing its volunteer aid workers, who've worked in Mauritania for over 40 years.

For us, this could prove a huge obstacle to the course of the Project Possession: not entering Mauritania means not entering Mali, which means not finishing in Timbuktu.

Right now we're concerned about these recent developments, but remain determined to complete the project.

Other routes are being looked into, and we remain hopeful things will change in Mauritania. But safety is always of key concern.

Besides, all it might mean is we go to Egypt instead.

9 weeks, 6 days to go

Article Published

The Media Train has begun...

Awareness is a major part of the project, we want people to know what we are doing.

Luckily it's been fairly easy to generate interest, people don't often independently embark on a project of such scale.

Our plan is to firstly target local media. That done we'll then set our sites on larger media bodies.

Media packs can be obtained by contacting:

projectpossession@davidjobradley.com

10 weeks 0 days to go

Departure Date Looms Closer, We Get Busier

Most of our time recently has been - and continues to be - spent soliciting sponsorship from various companies around Perth, with some success. Thanks to everyone for their generous support, particularly the companies listed to your right

Hopefully a video camera will materialise shortly, so we can begin logging the final weeks of organisation.

We've also secured a bit of local media attention, which has been fun and may help to spread the message in a more traditional fashion.

More to be added soon.

11 weeks, 1 day to go

Updates about the final stages of the planning proccess will be posted very soon.

After that you can expect regular updates about our progress as we're travelling.

For any info not displayed here go to www.davidjobradley.com or email projectpossession@davidjobradley.com

Thank you.

about the project

an in-depth explanation

The resulting images of Project Possession will follow the historical clash of cultures united under the banner of religion, showing the similarities and differences between cultures in the West, the East and Africa by tracing their historical transitions, transitions instigated by religion and domination.

From the United Kingdom, birthplace of Anglican Christianity, David travels to Spain, a Catholic state who not only attempted invasion of England under religious pretence during the Anglo-Spanish War in the 16th century, but who themselves struggled under occupation for hundreds of years at the hand of medieval Islamic power states.

From Spain David then moves into Morocco, the country from which eighth century Muslim invaders launched their campaigns against Spanish Catholic sovereignty. David continues to follow the religious trail by moving into Mali, where Islamic and African Tribal Animism begins to blend. Here David will focuss on a now vanished people, the fabled Tellem tribes of Mali’s Dogon country; a group of cliff dwelling pigmy people who, following clashes with Dogon Animist groups, are said to have fled the Dogon region for the Seno-Gondo plains of central West Africa.

Finally David will travel to France, colonial occupier of Mali and empirical enemy of England, who up until the 20th century were the world’s greatest rivals. This final leg of the journey connected all aspects of the study, steering the focus back to countries like the UK, who since World War One have become increasingly less religious.

But more importantly the study questions wider ideas around religion and culture. From the progressively secular United Kingdom, to Catholic Spain, Muslim Morocco, Tribal Mali and back to liberal France, this photographic study considers religion’s place in society, asking the question “what has been lost by discarding religion, and what do those who hold on to it still desire?”

Given the world’s current political, social and economic climate, this all-encompassing question is part of an essential step toward the greater understanding of the different cultures of the world, a step that will foster the necessary goodwill required to overcome the vastly complex issues surrounding our planet’s single most important challenge, climate change.