This is 12&12, an audible day in the life in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. 12 hours of day, and 12 hours of night, which coincide quite exact with the sunrise and sunset, the main reason why the Ethiopian time count starts at 6 in the morning, meaning at 7 there is 1 hour of sunshine, etc. Which procedure repeats in the evening, when sun sets at 6, so at 7 there is 1 hour of darkness, etc.
12&12 tells the story in audio-only of a day in the life by having one subject for one hour, be it sport, nightlife, work, recreation and a lot of other activities happening in a multi million inhabitants metropole in East-Africa. There are no voice-overs, hardly any edits, and all material was recorded using two microphones only, at the time of the day it is transmitted, adjusted for daylight saving time.
The non-radio version of 12&12 was one of the first, if not *the* first sound exhibition in Addis Ababa. The daily hours were exposed at the Goethe Institute, and the nightly hours at the Alliance Française, both in Addis Ababa in 2011, for whose kind support the artists wished to express his thanks. Special thanks also goes to Melaku Belay of Club Fendika and Kidus ‘Vemund’
Berhanu, for invaluable assistance.
Jeroen Visser, Zürich, Wednesday February 8th, 2017
Day Hour 5 – Changing Times
10-11 am
Debre Zeit Road
March 13 2011
BIG construction works on Debre Zeit Road, in preparation for the later to be built, and meanwhile already opened tram lines.
Day Hour 6 – Virtual Lions, or are they?
11-12 am
Lion Zoo Sedist Kilo
March 13 2011
The lions in the Lion Zoo are descendants of the lions kept by the Emperor Haile Selassie, and are very typical Abyssinian Lions, with dark manes. When listening intensely, one can hear them whisper.
Day Hour 7 – Mid Day Rush
12-01 pm
Meskel Square
March 12 2011
In the daytime this is one of the busiest places in Addis. A lot of traffic, and imagine, no traffic lights. All self-regulation enthropy.
Day Hour 8 – Leb leb
01-02 pm
Kitfo Bet Piassa
March 21 2011
In the famous Guragee (an Ethiopian tribe) Kitfo place near Piassa, where my first encounter with Ethiopian hospitality took place. Having just sat down at a table I was already invited to join the food of the neighbouring table.
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