Austrian-born photographer Mario Marino has spent the last few months in the South Ethiopia’s Omo River Valley taking what he calls “photographic psychograms” of its inhabitants. Each photograph represents a different micro-culture of the region.

Faces of Africa shows a race against time. Marino searched out the smallest, furthest villages for people whose heritage is under assault by tourism, technological advancement and social globalization. These people preserve their culture through marks on their bodies; white chalk used as face paint, intricate patterns shaved into their hair and ornaments such as shells and leaves taken from the terrain. By wearing their homeland they show that the body is one more medium for communication.