Marjorie Clayton's Other World

The need or ability to travel to remote areas of non-Western countries is still relatively rare and few who do make the journey don’t always return with something deep and artful that changes their lives and benefits the rest of us.

     As a professional photographer with a love of distant places and cultures Marjorie Clayton returns from her journeys with iconic images of ordinary people. The images allow us to glimpse into the lives of people who are rich at heart yet live in a difficult world without the advantages that we take for granted. Whether in Ghana or Bolivia the phrase “seize the day” doesn’t reflect choice and opportunity as we see it, but of doing what one can to survive on a daily basis. 

     Marjorie spends a great deal of time with her subjects, involving herself in their community more so than most artists and photographers would, stepping into a world that no tourist would see and one in which trust has to be earned. It’s a world that exists beyond our stereotypes.

    Driven by an interest in other countries, peoples, and cultures Marjorie first moved to England which became a springboard to Africa. Failing to confidently master French she chose English speaking Ghana as a destination. Beginning in 1992 Marjorie sporadically returned to Africa to spend an accumulated 15 months in Ghana.

     When first entering the country with only one contact with an NGO, Margorie states, “I figured I'd let life take me where it wanted me to go. I'm really not much of a tourist. I rarely go to monuments, museums or anywhere near a resort. I prefer to get to know what everyday life is like for the people I meet. Often I am drawn to artists, musicians and farmers and they often dictate where I go and what I do.”

    On several occasions Marjorie spent time in Navrongo, near Burkina Faso, as well as visiting Bolgatanga and the capital city Accra.

     “My main photo essays have been taken in Bolivia, Ghana and the Gambia. At the end of this coming year I plan to branch out and will be doing a new photo essay in Peru and possibly Ecuador. My most significant work was self funded with the exception of my first trip to The Gambia which was commissioned by a now defunct magazine in London.”

     Here in Thunder Bay you can see Marjorie’s photos at the Ahnisnabae Gallery at 18 Court St. And online at: www.marjclayton.aminus3.com 

     “I will be presenting 2 exhibitions in Bolivia in 2018. The first will be in February at City Hall in La Paz and the second will be in the Museo Tambo Quirquincho also in La Paz. For the May exhibition I will be creating a talk and workshop using my material from Ghana and The Gambia. I'm hoping to share my experiences in Ghana and The Gambia and show my images to a few Afro Bolivian communities  as well.”

      Most tourists who step tepidly into the fringe world that surrounds a resort or city centre encounter hustlers or “bumpsters,” as in the Gambia, where people resort to tricks and cons to earn a quick buck. 

     “My work can show another point of view, of real families, people who want to earn a living, to support a family in areas where unemployment is extremely high.”

    Marjorie captures people living and working with their families. Most are really happy to have their photo taken, especially if they can get a printed photo from Marjorie, which is a rare luxury. And although poverty is a constant toil, people continue to be optimistic assuaged by the understanding that everyone around them is in the same boat. Yet they are determined to bring joy to their lives, with family and friends and by being extremely creative with the limited resources they have.
And this is what Marjorie so artfully captures in her work, the industriousness and the humanity of people living ordinary lives, yet extraordinary for us.