From Ethiopia to Canada and Back

“The images I saw of Ethiopia were always one-sided, and didn’t offer the complexities of the place I called home … hence, photography became my life’s passion.”
– Aida Muluneh, Canadian Art.ca

Ethiopian-born Aida Muluneh spent time as a child in Yemen, England, and Cyprus, before discovering photography as a student at Western Canada High School in Calgary. Since then, she has travelled the world both as a photojournalist and as a fine art photographer, and she often finds that the subject matter she explores for media outlets motivates her creative work. CONTACT’s artistic director Bonnie Rubenstein has drawn from four series of Aida Muluneh’s photography to curate Reflections of Hope, which brings 10 of the artist’s works to Toronto.

Reflecting Hope in the Reflecting Pools

The portraits in Reflections of Hope explore subjects such as slavery, war, colonialism, and human rights, using dramatic compositions and vivid colours. Each image employs costuming, sets, and make-up inspired by body decoration and craft forms from Ethiopia and other global traditional cultures. Set within the context of the Aga Khan Park, Muluneh’s images gain particular resonance, standing as a series of monuments to both the struggles and achievements of her compatriots and the African diaspora across history and the present moment.

Read CONTACT’s full essay on Reflections of Hope.