The Mirella Ricciardi archive

Finding a lost archive is as exciting as finding treasure. It was my Tutankhamen moment as I was rummaging around in the dark recesses of the cellars in my family's old Art-Deco house, deep in rural Kenya. In 2007, I travelled to Africa after an absence of many years, to our farm on the shores of Lake Naivasha at the bottom of the Great Rift Valley, where my grandparents had settled. It was here that my mother Mirella Ricciardi and her two siblings were born and raised. I was returning to collect her belongings that had been in storage for over thirty years.

There in an old Zanzibar Chest, I came across the original archive of one of the great twentieth century photographic recorders of Africa. Reflecting on the importance of this hidden and long forgotten archive, I realised its current historical and cultural significance and became aware that, as the modern world denudes their way of life, these images of rapidly disappearing native cultures are part of our ancient global heritage.

Long before, I learnt to speak I saw the world around me in the black and white photographs.

Being surrounded by a concentration of these powerful images has stimulated my imagination and my memory since childhood for my mother's photographs speak of my past.

I have learnt from my mother an appreciation of how she always managed to capture arresting moments in her images that depict their truth and beauty. To stimulate the viewer in a sensual way, creating an intimate experience, where you feel close to the subject, has always been the core premise behind her work.

The passion behind my interest in preserving these images is the desire to share this potent visual experience with the world and to offer a new generation an opportunity to learn about these disappearing cultures and traditions. 

Mirella's archive celebrates her life and her work, ensuring that her artistic legacy continues to inspire.

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Amina Ricciardi-Dempsey, November 2013