Behind the Fences
The green and yellow tin fences that line nearly every corner of Addis Ababa have become quiet monuments of transformation—shielding construction sites, framing progress, and marking the edges of a city in flux. These colors, drawn from the Ethiopian flag, now blanket entire neighborhoods, signaling a shift not just in the skyline but in the soul of the city itself.
This photo series reflects on what lies behind these fences—what is built, what is lost, and most importantly, what remains unchanged. With all of this effort, no real change can take place until the people have also changed, and therefore, these images are juxtaposed with the familiar colors of the flag to express a deeper concern: as the city races forward in its urban ambitions, what happens to the lives caught in its shadow?
