THE CROSS OF AGADEZ

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ORIGIN

The cross of Agadez is a piece of handmade Nigerian jewelry I had brought back from my travels. It is traditionally worn by the Imouhar, nomads and free men of the Saharan regions.

The design resembles the Crux, a constellation commonly known as the "Southern Cross". Constant in it's nature, it remains visible in the southern sky all year round. With historically no other way of orientation, the Crux was key to navigating through the Saharan desert.

A DESERT WALK

Not a single fly, not a droplet of water in sight and no sound whatsoever and yet: psychotically vivid. A scraping breath, a throbbing heart and a buzzing bloodstream and yet: unmistakably dead. No home, no hope beyond the horizon but nonetheless stranded in a gentle and all-encompassing embrace: The desert, a dead sea with a breathing heart.

During a trip through southern Morocco, I went in search of a barren wasteland. Driving towards the desert, the vegetation steadily decreased until there was nothing more than sand and rocks in sight. I stopped at the last village before the vast sea of hot sand and met a man who would let me ride on his camel. Thus, I departed into the Sahara on camel’s back.

I offered the desert my ears, and the desert spoke to me: Through the absence of sound, a vacuum slowly wraps itself around my acoustic perception. A sensation that makes me want to pop my ears, akin to the change in air pressure on an ascending airplane. My focus starts to center around the sound of the camel’s hooves digging into the sand below. Gradually, I start to hear a buzz of which I cannot find the source. A buzz that gets louder and louder, surrounding me fully. I then realize that it must be the sound of my own blood, sizzling through my head. Never have i heard my own perpetual heartbeat with such clarity.

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Noël Doodeman

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