Phyllis Galembo Ngar Ball Traditional Masquerade Dance, Cross River, Nigeria, 2004

Phyllis Galembo, Baby Dance of Etikpe, Cross River, Nigeria, 2004

Phyllis Galembo, Agot Dance Group, Etikpe Village, Cross River, Nigeria, 2004

Phyllis Galembo, Akata Dance Masquerade, Cross River, Nigeria, 2004

Phyllis Galembo, Ekpokang Masquerade, Calabar South, Nigeria, 2005

Posting this is not appropriate. The advent of Halloween next week reeks all over this article. Yet, Phyllis Galembo addresses something in her photography that has been echoing in human-kind for thousands of years. We can smell the ancients in masquerades, costumes, and ornate disguises. Humans have been disguising themselves since the beginning of recorded history. Nothing new here. But what Galembo manages to do is to find the link between the grotesque, the playful, and the ritual. 

Phyllis Galembo, Affianwan, Calabar South, Nigeria, 2005

Phyllis Galembo, Ekpo, Calabar South, Nigeria, 2005

Phyllis Galembo, Ekpe, Calabar South, Nigeria, 2005

Phyllis Galembo, Ekpeyong Edet Dance Group, Calabar, Nigeria, 2005

Phyllis Galembo, Egungun, Djidjimbo Safou Ognon Warrior, Adandokpodji Village, Benin, 2006

Posted by Ana Lola Roman for The PhotoSynth Project

(Source: galembo.com)