South African PHOTOGRAPHIC project
Overview
In 2007, an innovative photographic project was initiated, whereby over 50 locals from the poorest regions in Johannesburg were asked to document their lives via disposable cameras.
The project, organised by Global Studios, took place in the infamous shack settlements: Alexandra, Diepsloot and Marshall-town.
Lead by project manager Hugh Snelgrove, from The University of Sydney, the aim is to empower locals and give the rest of the world a fresh perspective of a place that is largely misunderstood.
"Ultimately this project has helped a city present its human face, better know for its propensity for hijacking and high murder rates than its thriving sense of community and extremely rich cultural diversity," Snelgrove said.
Over 100 disposable cameras were distributed to over 40 people living in the shack settlements. Squatters living in abandoned buildings, in what used to be Johannesburg's prosperous CBD during Apartheid (now called Marshalltown), also took part in the project. Copies of the photos have been returned to each community that took part.
"By empowering each community member to take photographs themselves and of people and issues they cared about, in their own free time, we managed to gain an intimate and genuine portrait of the people, who in any other circumstance would have denied access inside their worlds," Snelgrove explains.
"While some photographers chose to simply document an average day others saw the photographic project as an opportunity to document more poignant subjects, hoping to raise awareness of the myriad of issues still affecting many South Africans today."
Issues such as poor public infrastructure, proper sanitation, pollution, lack of open space and public transport, as well as forced evictions to other temporary settlements were all documented.
Local community photographers also managed to document the ironic contradictions vividly displayed in areas of Johannesburg.
This included the propensity of some township residents who spend more money on their cars than on their own houses. It was not uncommon to see top of the line BMW's, Mercedes and even Jaguars parked alongside rusted corrugated shacks.
The vast majority of South Africans participating in the project passionately voiced their sense of pride and optimism for the future of South Africa and the opportunities their country presented to them.
To view more images and find out more about the South African PHOTOGRAPHIC Project please follow this link: www.shootingjozi.net
Biography
Hugh Snelgrove is a 22 year old artist and social entrepreneur based in Sydney, Australia. He studied Architecture for 3 years at Sydney University before branching out in a number of different creative projects. He’s been a semi finalist in 2 architecture essay competitions run out of Berkeley as well as made a successful submission to the worlds largest free to the public sculpture exhibition with a 1,000, 1 milkcrate high maze on one of the main beaches in Sydney.
The significance of this photographic project is how Hugh has engineered a reversal in the usual relationship between the photographer and their subject, in order to highlight poignant social issues through the eyes of the local community living there themselves.
The project was inspired by the academy award winning documentary ‘Born into brothels’ whereby a similar photographic project was produced in the red light district of Calcutta.
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