Issue No. 28 – Control

What is the nature of control? The desire for it—and to be free of it—are essential parts of both life and art.

Photo Journal Mondays: Christian Sanna

Photo Journal Mondays: Christian Sanna

Fighter drinking after the Moraingy in Dzamandzar village, Nosy Be, Madagascar 2015© Christian Sanna

Fighter drinking after the Moraingy in Dzamandzar village, Nosy Be, Madagascar 2015© Christian Sanna

Project: Moraingy

Spectators sitting in a circle, a dirt ground, saturated music, and two opponents (Fagnorolahy) facing each other. That is the atmosphere of the « Moraingy ».

Moraingy in Dzamandzar, Nosy Be, Madagascar 2015 © Christian Sanna

Moraingy in Dzamandzar, Nosy Be, Madagascar 2015 © Christian Sanna

Moraingy is a traditional martial art practiced on the west coast of Madagascar by the Sakalava people (one of the eighteen ethnics groups of the Malagasy people). In ancient times it was used as a game, as a means of defense, and as a training for war. During the Moraingy the adversary is seen not as an enemy but as a means to forming and proving oneself.

#2 Portrait of Fagnorolahy, Moraingy Fighter, Nosy Komba, Madagascar 2015 © Christian Sanna

#2 Portrait of Fagnorolahy, Moraingy Fighter, Nosy Komba, Madagascar 2015 © Christian Sanna

Christian Sanna's photographs testify to the enthusiasm of the younger inhabitants of the island of Nosy Be for a sport both indigenous and traditional. For them it represents a landmark, the basis for a process of recovery and resistance of the Westernization of the island in the service of tourism. Among Sanna's black and white photographs are portraits of fighters seated in front of the camera and gazing into the lens with self-assurance and determination. Moments of warming up or solitude represent preparation for the fight, both struggle with self and a way of restoring confidence and dignity to those left behind by the developments of the island. In scenes of combat, the fighters are photographed in classical poses, suspended in time, attitude and gesture evoking the vocabulary of heroic epic.

Entering the Moraingy in Dzamandzar village, Nosy Be, Madagascar 2015 © Christian Sanna

Entering the Moraingy in Dzamandzar village, Nosy Be, Madagascar 2015 © Christian Sanna

Night training session at the local bar/nightclub "The Mermaid", Nosy Be, Madagascar 2015 © Christian Sanna

Night training session at the local bar/nightclub "The Mermaid", Nosy Be, Madagascar 2015 © Christian Sanna

More of Christian's work can be found on his website here.

Travel: Namibia

Film Review: BlacKkKlansman

Film Review: BlacKkKlansman