they asked us for a profile pic...out came the bubbles..oops

my dream has come true....dresses with love!

www.teeandwhiskey.com

'n meisie en haar pa...boetie

die bond is kwaai, was nie altyd nie
ek is lief
verwonder my soms
aan die anders

ek is soos hy
x

die stof op daai plaas(lank treug)

goeie tye ...
ander mense
ons was anders
ek was bang....so mooi tyd inmy lewe
maar so hartseer
nou voel ek sterk
maar soms in is die trane in my keel
.....die stof het die gesond gehelp
ander gesigte
liefde

some of the people i have forgotten

die dae gaan deesdae baie stadig...verby, weg, ek weet nie
my hart is op baie plekke in een oomblik
my gedagtes loop rond soos een moerse slet
ek weet nie, maar sal dit uit figure??

die mense wat vir my almal so mooi was, nie te lank treug nie
...nou bietjie in daai deurmekaar kamer in my kop
fok....wat gaan aan...my source is moeg of iets

ek moet weg
nie ver nie...maar sal my mense moet onthou...
en waarom hulle vir my so mooi is
dis nie moeilik nie...maar hard

die plaas is so lekker

ek laat altyd myself gaan
ek kan dit nie help nie
dit is so drugs vir my siege
om daai kak wolk van stof in my kop
wat in Jozi is somtyds...uit te suig
net Dad...Johannie...

wonderlik, in a strange plaas vibe

central methodist church - jeppe/inner city

crowded...
what's going to happen?
2008/05/21

seni - his story

my friend Seni

Urban Inspector - part of the task force in the inner city. this is what he wrote to me via email after i had interviewed him...i guess he thought about it a little

"The whole of Sunday and Yesterday we as a region were assisting in these Xenophobic attacks in the Cleveland and Jeppe area, one thing is that for any of us to feel the impact of this situation is to go and be within our fellow Africans who are in dire need of help and the most basic things, like toilet paper, a place to take a bath (privacy) and water, not knowing where and when is food coming, being helpless and really not knowing what the future holds.

I spoke to a number of the victims and was asking them what help are they expecting from South Africa...you will be shocked at the answers we got as 99% of them were saying they can not go back to their countries as they have no family, the families have been wiped off by the civil wars, especially people from the DRC and Burundi they say they rather be killed in South Africa, cause they've got nothing to loose now as all what they have is taken away from them.

I've been around informal settlements, seen poverty stricken families, seen homeless people, seen people dying from HIV related illness’s but what I saw and felt yesterday is beyond explanation and belief to see what we as humans are capable of.

Take a minute and look at your life right now and start appreciating what you have and let us stop the hatred we have, firstly with ourselves, loved one's, neighbours and the human race.

N.B. I’m also one of those who were Xenophobic, but I’ve seen the light, it’s not worth it, what is there to gain."

Sibongiseni N. Tshabalala

who wil save us

the frustration has been building up for a long time...
people are reacting...
the streets have been filled with anger, for a reason?

Immigration has been trying to deal with problems, specially in the inner city
where i shoot most of the time..but it is a process, and much emotion is involved.

traveling with the team from spot to spot..it became harder and harder for me to shoot.

die gevoel in my lyf was nie meer die addrenalien gemeng met haas nie, dit was nou
meer dat ek regtig bang was vir my lewe. die amount van krag op die straat in negatiewe form was scary! ek het op een oomblik in lister medical building opgeeindig, agter die security guard se tafel.

ons moet dit probeer verstaan?...die uibarsting van geweld..teenoor kinders ook?
ek kan nie!!

ek sien op na die inner city task team - RESPEK vir my mede JMPD offisiers en ook die Special SAPS...sonder hulle in die midde stad sou ons seker al by oor die 100 sterftes gehad het. ELKE STORIE HET TWEE KANTE, moenie iemand of iets "smeer" as jy dit nie verstaan nie!

CLEVELAND POLICE STATION

"who is going to save us?"

she asked me...cause i have the urban force task team shirt on?...or cause she wants anybody's help?

i did not know what to say...have a blanket?...Fuck, i felt so useless
1634 displaced outside CLEVELAND POLICE STATION

cowboys

we always rode into the night...
almost like cowboys - windgat!
baie opgewerk, excited en bang
ek minder
sy was altyd daar...
my maak lag en my trane verstaan
tussen dit als deur, my gat beskerm met my kamera in hand

instant trust

liefde vir Petunia

Petunia

rest in peace my dear friend...
we will miss you
it was an honour to work with you...

berea

taken a brake from shooting over the past few days, back in the city with the team today. could not get myself to focus on the people and situations, rather being distracted by buildings and lots of "looking up"...berea is one of the more difficult sections of the city that i am covering. i found myself looking at beautiful architecture...wondering what it was like, and what it can become again

immigration ikhona?

we always meet on the street at night. we give each other a few words that never end up as a conversation. I hand over a few ciggies... that is all i can offer.

on the other side of this brick wall aka documentary, is the 'urban force', they can offer more. these exceptional people that i basically just follow around are passionate about their operation and our inner city. But some nights, as with tiny, they fail me. i say 'me' cause i guess i have become just as much a part of this operation as any other individual.

from congo to jeppe street, tiny smokes my ciggies, but human development (part of the urban force) discard him as i would my cigarette butt. Throwing him from jeppe to immigration - no eye contact...he is left AGAIN, they think he is a tokoloshi. all he repeats as he stares at me is "i miss you"...not me...but someone

beautiful face

hope

as i go into the streets every day to document
i wonder...
is it the feel in this place?
...the smell...the people i meet...
my heart races accompanied by a magic smile...
sometimes my heart stops, and i weep in situations...with a reserved opinion

"don't interfere"

when do i stop documenting and interfere?

but i know there is hope...in this City
i will always love Jozi

how do you high-jack a building?

filmstrip

"a series of transparencies in a strip of film for projection"

...like a series of experience
stuck in my strip of a head
projection doesn't help sometimes
...they walk with me in the streets...stuck in my head

does Joburg inner city ever sleep?

my valentine

she likes the streets?

the city use to be clean

baby day

the day started much like any other...
shoot...
people...
streets...
then we found a "broken Baby"
i decided not to include the images of the child

only Peter...who found the her
...and some people who decided she was broken