South African photographer Jodi Bieber is an adventurer in search of the original relevance and connection among cultures and their societies. In her book, SOWETO, Jodi explores the vibrancy and the intimacy of Soweto culture that was hitherto hidden because of Apartheid, but today, new varieties in assimilation and integration keep evolving.
By Jodi Bieber
Soweto operates in a different way
to other, more salubrious suburbs in Johannesburg. There is a strong sense of
community of ubuntu [togetherness in Zulu] that binds the place. Children play
on pavements and people socialize outside their homes. You will find rival
music systems on front steps, pelting out different tunes and sounds. And it
only takes a greeting to get invited into someone’s house. If there is a
wedding on the road you live on, you are invited.
I have always loved photographing
in Soweto. Early on in my career, shortly after the 1994 elections, I would ask
my picture editor the Star newspaper if I could go there when it was quiet at
work. I remember the gogo [grandmothers] would say, “Don’t stay too long, the
tsotsis [criminals] will be out after dark.” And they would ask me where I was
from. This hasn’t changed. On my journey this time, no one could believe I was
South African. They told me that only tourists come to Soweto. That made me
sad.
The biggest change in Soweto that
has struck me over time is the shift from political to economical – it’s about
rewarding yourself. I went back to a school pi attended in the 1970s and the
teachers weren’t talking about apartheid in assembly, they were wearing wigs.
It is very easy to overlook what’s
on your doorstep which was why I began this project. I drove 7,000km over three
months and I kept constantly on the move to get these stories. I met a Michel
walking on the street in a suit and he took me to his house. He lived in a
shack made from corrugated iron but he’d made that place his home. I headed to
Xola, which people usually think of as a crime-ridden area and I met Bongani, a
young guy with a manicured lawn and an inflatable dolphin postbox. On another
occasion, I spotted a sign saying Snake Show and went to meet Nolwadle and her
anaconda. I also met Andrew who is the most eccentric person in Soweto. He told
me to come round to his house and he’d do a mini fashion show for me. He had at
least 50 pairs of shoes and 60 suits. These are the stories of Soweto from book
entitled SOWETO
No comments:
Post a Comment