Completed! Title: Venice of Africa Charcoal pencils and graphite pencils on fine linen ( 2 * 2 ft) A story of Makoko, the pain of Lagos, Nigeria. Firstly lets not get carried away with the title “Venice of Africa”, and if you are like me then the thought of Venice should conjures up images of beauty, art, and architecture, and definitely not a slum. The only attributes they both have in common is that they were both built and float on water, and are home to a population well into the 200,000 mark. Makoko in Lagos is a slum neighborhood above the Lagos Lagoon. It has been around for along time dating back to the 18th century, and at that time it was a fishing village. Makoko is really one of the many sad stories of Lagos, it is seen and not seen all in one glance, an invisible community that many are actually unaware of. It is an extremely poor area, and as can be expected with poverty comes a whole range of social issues, making Makoko a no go area in the mind of the average
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"Venice of Africa II" The story of Makoko part 2 Back in the 18th century , Makoko used to be a small fishing village before it grew into the sprawling one-square-kilometre urban settlement. There are no official census records, but estimates suggest the population totals 150,000 souls. Many of Makoko's inhabitants are from neighbouring Benin and Togo - most have lived here for decades. An average of eight people live in each house, and sustain themselves on fishing or collecting wood from the lagoon.
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