Bekele Tadesse
a coffee farm in the Ethiopian highlands
Bekele Tadesse balances his life between the waters of Lake Tana, capturing fish in seine nets, and the earthy soils of his small coffee farm near Yirgacheffe. His days consist of hauling fish at dawn, engaging in tense negotiations with buyers, then retreating to his farm to nurture coffee plants and sun-dry beans. Each evening, he marks another day’s sobriety on his bedroom wall while wrestling with an elusive word that hovers just beyond reach, a mental itch that keeps him awake amidst the fatigue of his double life.
About
Obsession
The small maddening feeling of a word you can't remember.
Voice
Silent midnight tension, tinged with hope.
Artistic Medium
Fish scales and coffee bean husks
Technique
Incising and layering
Influences
Pre-dawn light on Lake Tana, aroma of drying coffee, silence of forgotten words
Materials
Charcoal from coffee tree wood, dried fish scales, old fishing nets, coffee bean skins
Scale
Bedroom wall-sized incisions
Selected 0 times
Commissioned Works
"Threads of Reflection"
August 10, 2026 · contemplative