Author: Nanadadzie Ghansah

The Day The Grim Reaper Arrived

Suddenly, he stood over me, his presence casting a cold, stifling pall over the room…I jerked back in fear…”It is time”, I heard him say…I gingerly stole a glance his way…I swear, in that dark, hollow and hooded visage, I saw pity….”It is time!”, I repeated to myself…he nodded…slowly, my fear was replaced by another feeling…that of preparedness….I looked up unafraid and said, “I am ready!”…in the distance the alarms were going off….on the screen, I saw a flat line, as the room darkened….and that is what happened….

“The Day the Grim Reaper Arrived”
(An 8” x 10” Wet plate collodion image)

A Judgement Day

I never told her I loved her….or thanked her for all she did…I never hugged the kids or kissed them goodnight…I missed birthdays and anniversaries…a better son I was not….my death was sudden and now, far away in this desolation, I am haunted by my regrets…surrounded by the darkness, each day is…

“A Judgement Day!”
(An 8″ x 10″ Wet Plate Collodion Image)

It’s Spooky Season

From now till the end of the month, I will be using photographs to explore the emotion of “fear” – to be exact, the fear of the unknown, especially death. I think this a good time to do that, then, after all, Halloween is just around the corner. You can see the images here.
 
As we celebrate Halloween, we need to remember the origin of the festival and its essence.
Halloween comes from the Celtic festival called “Samhain”. It was celebrated from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1 and marked the end of the light summer and the start of the darkness of winter. It marked a time when the boundary between this world and that of the departed was removed and the departed could visit our world and the Celts could confer with the spirits of the dead.
Then came the Church and Christianity and disrupted a lot of customs in Europe and all over the world. As you can imagine, the Celtic custom of Samhain was not spared either.
In AD 609, Pope Gregory moved the All Martyrs Day from May 13 to Nov. 1 and renamed it All Saints Day. Then in AD 1000, Nov 2 was named All Souls Day or All-Hallowmas and Oct. 31, All Hallows Eve. On All Souls Day, the celebrations were just like the old Celtic rites of Samhain – big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils.
Soon, All Hallows Eve became “Halloween” and the celebrations of the Celts on Samhain had been appropriated.
 
Yet, the underlying meaning of the day does not need to be lost. The dead can teach us about living. Their mistakes, triumphs, achievements, and regrets are all things that we can learn from.
In most African societies, Death is feared more than Americans fear the IRS but I argue that we needn’t fear Death.
A most important exercise then should be an exploration of why we fear death so much.
Is it because of a fear of not knowing what lies beyond or is it because we fear we won’t be ready? Do we fear we’ll be snatched in our prime or before we see our kids grow into adults?
 
Those are questions I ponder often and hence the images. I seek to point out that instead of wasting our emotions on being afraid, we should rather seek to live in such a way that we’ll have no regrets when the time comes. That times like these should remind us that Death is just around the corner and our Time is finite. The images are thus “Memento Mori” symbols to remind you all that the clock is ticking so love, create, eat, dance, sing, hug, make love…like there is no tomorrow.

The Shrine

“Follow me, my son”, he said to me. I followed him through a narrow, dimly lit corridor. It was very quiet there and the silence was only broken by the sound of our steps on the cold stone and our breaths. Soon, we came to a large wooden door. He rapped on it with his knuckles and it was opened from the inside. I followed him into a dark room that was lit by candles. As my eyes got accustomed to the dimness, I saw the skulls. They were of all shapes and sizes and they were everywhere. I broke into a cold sweat. I think he noticed my discomfort and lay a hand gently on my shoulder. Then he pointed to some rugs in front of what looked like an altar and asked me to sit. I sat down and he sat beside me, assuming a lotus position. I assumed a lotus position too.
I could not take my eyes off the skulls and yet I saw the inscription above the altar. Even in the dim light, I could read what it said:
“The flame of the candle will burn out one day and leave a darkness around it. Until then, seize every moment to make the light of the flame count so when the darkness falls, the last thing you feel is regret.”
Suddenly, I understood the symbology of it all…I got it….that day in…

“The Shrine”
(A Wet Plate Collodion image)

Anger and Fury

It happened one October day in ‘59….he was waiting for them that day – his wife and her lover…..he was waiting in the bedroom…he stabbed them both…he did not stop till he was bathed in warm, red blood…then he beheaded the corpses…they found the heads beside him in the barn where he had shot himself…they buried the heads of his wife and her lover with their headless corpses….now they say he comes back each October to dig up the heads and stabs at them all over again….then his soul will not be appeased even in death….that soul that seems to be forever full of….

“Anger and Fury!”
(A wet plate collodion image)

The Apparition

He is there when you close your eyes…..you cower in terror at his presence….he haunts your every dream, turning them into nightmares….the daylight does not seem to deter him, then he lurks behind your doubts, uncertainties and weaknesses…and just when you think he might be gone, you see the edge of his long shadow, making you wonder if he symbolizes something deeper….a deep-seated fear that has materialized into…

“The Apparition”
(A Wetplate collodion image)

Our Reflections, He Will Dim

O Curvy and Gorgeous One,
Where did your beauty go?
It used to radiate like the sun,
Setting your being and life aglow.
Looks that turned all heads,
Male and even female too.
You tore suitors into shreds,
Breaking a heart or two.
Yet now the glow is gone,
The radiance is no more.
No admirers to fawn,
Or even try to score.
Then Death ever so grim,
Did your reflection even dim.

O Strong and Handsome one,
Where did your strength go?
Your life was full of fun,
Always leading the show.
The ladies swooned over you,
Wishing in your arms to melt.
From you, the men took their cue,
Before your suaveness, they knelt.
Yet now that physique is gone,
The striking looks no more.
No dainty admirers are drawn,
To your now very lonely door.
Then Death ever so grim,
Did your reflection even dim.

You Cold and Stealthy One,
Why do you plague us so?
Must you always stun,
Such misery always sow?
No one is safe from you,
Then your cold fingers reach far.
Into each psyche you finally tattoo,
Pain and a deep, endless scar.
Thus into living, we must fully dive,
And our time wisely use.
Each minute we must strive,
Our lives with the good to infuse.
Then Death ever so grim,
Will soon our reflections even dim.

© Nana Dadzie Ghansah 2018

Terror

This was not what they said it would be like!…His whole life, he had lived for this moment and now… and now…he was staring at eternity and all he saw filled his bones with…

“Pure, unadulterated Terror”
(A wet plate collodion image)

Those Boots

“These boots are made for walking,
And that’s just what they’ll do,
One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you…”
– from the song “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’”.
Written in 1966 by Lee Hazlewood and performed by Nancy Sinatra.

“The Boots”
A wet plate collodion image