Haabre: The Last Generation by Joana Choumali

By: Joana Choumali. Hââbré: The Last Generation is a photobook of studio portraits documenting people who bear traditional facial scarification once practised by various West African ethnic groups, a custom the project suggests may be dying out. Each photograph is paired with excerpts from interviews in which subjects share differing views on their markings, from pride to rejection, exploring how the tradition persists or fades amid changing ideas of identity and beauty in contemporary Abidjan. Choumali, born in 1974 in Côte d'Ivoire, trained in graphic design before becoming a photographer, and the project won the 2016 Fourthwall Books Photobook Award. Published by Fourthwall Books, Johannesburg.