Sunday, June 27, 2010

TRASHITECTURE 1

The Sea Side Ghetto


The first is a dwelling i found by the beach near a very busy high way by the sea. Constructed to be a fishmonger's stall, and later a storeroom, it is now home to a middle aged Rastafarian gentleman named Ras Idem alias Sea lion. His choice of location is based on the fact that he is still waiting for a ship to take him back to Africa, the fatherland. He wanted to escape the oppressors in Babylon (part of the city of Accra) and hopefully wait for the emancipation and repatriation back to his homeland.
The construction of the dwelling is interesting. Half of the building materials used are debris floating onto the beach. the corner posts are coconut tree stumps. The gable roof is made of dried Thatch from a nearby marshland held together by ropes on bamboo rafters. The interior is dense with the smell of mosquito repellent coils and marijuana. The structure is insulated by old leather bags and worn trampolines. The interior furniture is made of old wooden soda crates with cushion of old second-hand clothes.
All these aside, with an old lantern, and mosquito coils, the evening here is delightful sitting on a three legged chair with a battery powered radio straining an ear to listen to Reggae music drowned by the strong winds from the gulf of Guinea and the relentless attack of the waves rushing up against the shore.

Kojoderban

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