Dynamic Africa
Formerly, "This is Africa/fyeahAfrica".
(Profile Photo by Mama Casset)
DISCLAIMER:
I do not endorse any of the products or opinions shared on this site, nor do I claim any of the work posted here to be my own - except where stated. All posts originally made by me are credited. If no credit is given then the work is either my own/written by me or reblogged from another source.
A LITTLE ABOUT ME:
Student, 24
Based in Cape Town, South Africa
From Lagos, Nigeria
Want to advertise through us? Send an email to dynamicafricablog@gmail.com
(As an unemployed media student, all donations go into ensuring my survival in this cruel world and future projects I hope to embark on).
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(since Oct. 21th 2012)
Vintage colour black and white portraits take in Bobson Studio founded by Sukdeo Bobson Mohanlall in Durban, South Africa, in 1961.
Vintage colour studio portraits take in Bobson Studio founded by Sukdeo Bobson Mohanlall in Durban, South Africa, in 1961.
Images from Mozambican photographer Mario Macilau’s series ‘The Zionists’ that ‘documents the traditional religious rituals of Mozambique’.
As a photographer, I believe in the power of images and I’ve been exploring the relationship that exists between the environment, human beings, and time. Photography has connected me to incredible moments and experiences and all the places have taught me something valuable so I try to keep an open mind.
In this episode of Al Jazeera’s six-part series documenting dynamic African photographers, self-taught Maputo-based Mozambican photographer Mario Macilau uses his lens to provide ‘a voice’ for people who live in what he describes as a ‘lost’ country.
Mikhael Subotzky and Patrick Waterhouse spent much of the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 engaged in the quixotic task of taking a photograph out of every window, of every internal door, and of every television-set in Ponte City. This circular 54-story building has been the subject of their three-year investigation of its structure and its position as the crucible of Johannesburg´s urban mythology.
The result is three light-boxes, each measuring almost four meters, which tower above the viewer in similar proportions to the building itself. The photographs, taken with as much formal consistency as was possible in a chaotic building, are presented exactly in order, floor above floor and flat by flat.
Pointe City Background (from Artist’s Website):
The fifty-four-storey Ponte City building dominates Johannesburg’s skyline, its huge blinking advertising crown visible from Soweto in the south to Sandton in the north. When it was built in 1976 – the year of the Soweto uprisings – the surrounding flatlands of Berea, Hillbrow and Yeoville were exclusively white, and home to young middle-class couples, students and Jewish grandmothers. Ponte City was separated by apartheid urban planning from the unforgettable events of that year. But as the city changed in anticipation and response to the arrival of democracy in 1994, many residents joined the exodus towards the supposed safety of the northern suburbs, the vacated areas becoming associated with crime, urban decay and, most of all, the influx of foreign nationals from neighbouring African countries.
Ponte’s iconic structure soon became a symbol of the downturn in central Johannesburg. The reality of the building and its many fictions have always integrated seamlessly into a patchwork of myths and projections that reveals as much about the psyche of the city as it does about the building itself. Tales of brazen crack and prostitution rings operating from its car parks, four storeys of trash accumulating in its open core, snakes, ghosts and frequent suicides have all added to the building’s legend. Some of these stories are actually true, and for quite some time most of the residents were indeed illegal immigrants. And yet, one is left with the feeling that even the building’s notoriety is somewhat exaggerated – that its decline is just as fictional as its initial utopian intentions were misplaced and unrealized.
Celebrating the Freak: Images of Two Township Genderqueers
Luciano and Lunga are biological boys living in Alex and Tembisa. They identify as both male and female. While the way they express their gender and their sexual orientation could get them beaten and/or raped and/or killed, they choose to be themselves, to “celebrate The Freak”. These images are a celebration of The Freak, a celebration and salute to them being them, to their integrity, honesty and bravery.
Images by Germaine de Larch
These photographs, and a range of Germaine’s other work will be on display and for sale at her first solo exhibition: #rediscoveringtheordinary
@ Studio23, Arts on Main, Sunday 16 June, 3pm. Johannesburg, South Africa
‘Angolan Women Building the Future - From National Liberation to Women’s Emancipation’, Organization of Angolan Women, Zed Books, London, 1984.
(via jadoreafrikque)
A. James Gribble, inscribed:
Masupa. Kaffir* Chief & sons. Basutoland
South Africa, late nineteenth century
Albumen print
Basutoland or officially the Territory of Basutoland, was a British Crown colony established in 1884 after the Cape Colony’s inability to control the territory. It was divided into seven administrative districts; Berea, Leribe, Maseru, Mohales Hoek, Mafeteng, Qacha’s Nek and Quthing.
Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho upon independence from the United Kingdom on October 4, 1966.
*The word ‘kaffir’ is an derogatory slur that was used to refer to black people in South Africa. The original word is derived from Arabic and means ‘non-believer’.
Unidentified photographer, inscribed:
Monsiga Chief of Mafeking
South Africa, late nineteenth century
Gelatin or collodion printed-out print mounted on album page
Mahikeng - formerly, and still commonly, known as Mafikeng and historically Mafeking in English - is the capital city of the North-West Province of South Africa. It is best known internationally for the Siege of Mafeking, the most famous engagement of the Second Boer War.
Samuel Baylis Barnard, inscribed:
Damara Servant Girl, S. Africa
South Africa, late nineteenth century
Albumen print
J. E. Middlebrook (attr.), inscribed:
A Zulu girl. Hair strung with beads
South Africa, late nineteenth century
Lawrence Brothers, Cape Town (attr.), inscribed:
Kaffir* girl
South Africa, c. 1870s
Carte de visite
*The word ‘kaffir’ is an derogatory slur that was used to refer to black people in South Africa. The original word is derived from Arabic and means ‘non-believer’.
Gray Brothers (Diamond Fields), inscribed:
Zulu / Young Warrior in fighting order, and in skin Kaross. Armed with hatchet and assegai
South Africa. c. 1870s
Carte de visite
Zimbabwe: 1980s
Miners from Zimbabwe and their families. From “Family of Miners” series by Milton Rogivin
This series portrays miners in ten nations.
In 1962, Milton and Anne Rogovin traveled to Appalachia for the first of nine visits. Photographs were taken of mountains devastated by mining operations as well as of miners at their work places and in the neighborhoods where they worked. Milton captured the effects of Black Lung disease and unemployment.
In the “Family of Miners” series, workers were photographed with hard hats and lanterns and coal blackened faces, at rest, in below-ground changing rooms, or on elevators descending into the mines. When not at work, they were photographed at festivals, at local pubs, or at home with their families or with their pets.
“When you say you dance ispantsula in the townships, they would say you’re a hooligan. So we decided to screw taps into our shoes and show them, there’s more to pantsula than you think.” Explains Elvin. “Well, we actually glued them at first, but they kept falling off,” corrects Elrich, Elvin’s identical twin.
Via Volcano, formed by William and his friend Sphiwe back in 1994, was created to encourage dancing in the Kagiso community. Almost two decades later with a group that’s grown to over 30, they’re still working within the community trying to spread the performing arts. “When we came up with the name we thought of something strong and unstoppable. What’s more unstoppable than a volcano?”
The core of the crew as it stands today, got together back in 2001. But it took until 2005 for things to finally galvanise for the Volcanoes. “That year we won the Gauteng Dance Showcase. We were chosen to represent Gauteng in a series of workshops which led to us being chosen to go to the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown,” recalls Elvin. The impact of this exposure completely changed the face of Via Volcano. “It was the first time we were exposed to choreography – we learnt so much. After that, we returned the following year with our own production – Ayashisa Amateki.” He adds.
We break as the crew readies themselves for a display of what differentiates them from being just another pantsula crew. Apart from tapping, it’s clear Via Volcano have broken the boundaries of any specifically defined dance style. It’s a powerful show of movement, at times borrowing elements from Michael Flatley, but with a whistle and the squeak of converse shoes bringing it back to the pantsula roots. It’s clear these guys have moved far beyond Kagiso – all the way to China, in fact.
