Places of Abode
DISCARDS (4)
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In the constant motion of urban
landscapes, we often develop spaces for human use and consumption and later
leave behind our structures and footprints to decay and regenerate.
South Africa, being a country in constant urban growth, provides an interesting landscape for one to observe the gradual social and environmental changes that prevail in a developing democracy.
Seeing myself as a medium for the places that I depict, portraying its hidden and unspoken emotions in sometimes naive, other-worldly landscapes, I attempt to take the viewer to a natural subconscious wherein lies the awareness of an ecological connection to our occupied or discarded spaces.
Creating a narrative of people and places that exist on the so-called ‘fringe’ of society, I enjoy spending time with people and places outside of South Africa’s mainstream economy, whom are sometimes outcaste, ostracised, unsightly and often harassed and criticised, but yet necessary to complete all parts of our value chain.
For this series of works, I explored the places of abode of South Africa’s informal recyclers, plastic and metal collectors, informal immigrants, construction workers and landfill collectors, sharing and trying to understand their informal workspaces hidden amongst Johannesburg’s urban forest and supporting the value chain of the economic metropolis.
South Africa, being a country in constant urban growth, provides an interesting landscape for one to observe the gradual social and environmental changes that prevail in a developing democracy.
Seeing myself as a medium for the places that I depict, portraying its hidden and unspoken emotions in sometimes naive, other-worldly landscapes, I attempt to take the viewer to a natural subconscious wherein lies the awareness of an ecological connection to our occupied or discarded spaces.
Creating a narrative of people and places that exist on the so-called ‘fringe’ of society, I enjoy spending time with people and places outside of South Africa’s mainstream economy, whom are sometimes outcaste, ostracised, unsightly and often harassed and criticised, but yet necessary to complete all parts of our value chain.
For this series of works, I explored the places of abode of South Africa’s informal recyclers, plastic and metal collectors, informal immigrants, construction workers and landfill collectors, sharing and trying to understand their informal workspaces hidden amongst Johannesburg’s urban forest and supporting the value chain of the economic metropolis.
CHAIN OF COMMAND
I particularly enjoy connecting urban spaces with
natural phenomena, sometimes placing man-made structures or symbols in an
uncontrolled natural environment and sometimes simply capturing discarded,
consumed places or places prepared for re-development after having removed all
people, animals and vegetation that occupied it before.
The photography for the art works were taken on various urban and nuclear wastelands, landfill sites in South Africa and certain natural landscapes susceptible to veld fires and habitual regrowth. Transforming naturally challenging environments into surreal and imaginary worlds, I attempt to bring harsh places to the human ecological subconscious.
Being a key part of the informal processing of Johannesburg’s waste, informal recyclers or collectors are often threatened by locals, the police and formal residents mistaking them for criminals. Exploring their plastic and metal recycling depots in the urban forest, they appear almost hidden from direct sight, but persist with hope and resilience.
I enjoy portraying both man’s attempt to organise and control our natural and human resources, as well as nature’s instinctive responses.
In the engine of human production and consumption lies the eternal hope of every living being to flourish and sustain life. Inspired by the silent voices of occupied and discarded places of abode, this portfolio depicts some of the products of the marketplace of an urban metropolitan landscape in a developing democracy.
The photography for the art works were taken on various urban and nuclear wastelands, landfill sites in South Africa and certain natural landscapes susceptible to veld fires and habitual regrowth. Transforming naturally challenging environments into surreal and imaginary worlds, I attempt to bring harsh places to the human ecological subconscious.
Being a key part of the informal processing of Johannesburg’s waste, informal recyclers or collectors are often threatened by locals, the police and formal residents mistaking them for criminals. Exploring their plastic and metal recycling depots in the urban forest, they appear almost hidden from direct sight, but persist with hope and resilience.
I enjoy portraying both man’s attempt to organise and control our natural and human resources, as well as nature’s instinctive responses.
In the engine of human production and consumption lies the eternal hope of every living being to flourish and sustain life. Inspired by the silent voices of occupied and discarded places of abode, this portfolio depicts some of the products of the marketplace of an urban metropolitan landscape in a developing democracy.