U.S. photo exhibition celebrates 30 years of South African change

An exhibition in New York is celebrating South African photography
with images that have captured the changing country over the last 30
years.

The collection entitled 'Transitions: South Africa', hosted by the
Bronx Documentary Center, gives a window into people's lives through
the end of Apartheid and the start of democracy.

Nick Harper reports from New York.

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A black South African stands praying with the Vodacom tower looming behind him.
It's just one of several dozens photographs showing a nation
navigating a time of great change.
The collection of images comes from the archives of Johannesburg-based
Market Photo Workshop.
It looks back over 30 years, showing the personal struggles through
the end of Apartheid, the upheaval of newly-won democracy and the
economic growth that followed.
Michael Kamber is the director of the Bronx Documentary Center in New
York where the exhibition is being held.

SOT - Michael Kamber, Bronx Documentary Center
"Photography becomes the window through which we discover South
Africa, through which our impressions and our eduction about South
Africa come to us, so it's incredibly important. You can see clips on
Youtube or clips on TV. But being able to sit with a photograph and
ponder a photograph of South Africa makes a bit difference."

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The non-profit organization Market Photo Workshop has given low-cost
or free training to generations of South African photographers.
They in turn have captured South Africa's struggles and changes for a
global audience.
One photo in the exhibit entitled White Fear shows an Afrikaner man
sitting in his armchair, a revolver in his hand, his finger on the
trigger.
Another shows white policemen protecting a black-owned shop in a
formerly racially segregated township.

SOT - Michael Kamber, Bronx Documentary Center
"I know that a lot of the coverage that we the west or in the United
States saw from South Africa was western or European photographers
going in, taking pictures and leaving. And they would of course take
pictures of the most extreme things.
"We need a level playing field, we need images by people from that
country, people who understand the reality, people who can correctly
represent what's going on there."

TAKE VO
It's a historical record as much as an artist exhibition. With that
history playing out through these intimate, people-centered portraits.
TAKE VO
The exhibition gives real insight into the journey South Africa has
undergone in the last 30 years. These photos stand as testament to a
country in transition, helping to shape the world's understanding of a
nation during a period of seismic change.
Nick Harper, SABC News, New York.
I'm NH in NY.


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