HOPE

A FEW THOUGHTS

Blog#18

Some images just simply appeal, who knows why. It could be the appeal of the subject itself or the composition, the colours, the light. Sometimes, something just grabs you.

This image is appealing, why? The reasons are not always obvious, they may even be inexplicable. Appeal can be largely an emotional response and likewise the basis of emotions is not always easy to grasp.

In this image I suspect we are drawn to the attitude of the girls. They appear confident, sure of themselves, safe in their skins.

Look at the way they hold themselves, prone but self possessed. They lie there with attitude, with no doubt about their place in the world. Assertive. It seems surprising that this attitude is out there in public, in a public place, where they may have felt vulnerable.

There is also appeal in the range of colours. A range of colours subdued, nothing too vivid, calm. The colour range is desaturated and gentle.Similarly the light, the atmosphere, is gentle, comfortable and soft. The Sun is out, harsh, but remarkably the girls skin remains soft, there are no hard shadows.

As a cinematographer the skin of black people is a joy to light. The natural colouring does not show hard shadows but hides them in the tone of the skin, especially in the face.

I am not a great fan of shoving subjects in front of the camera; motionless, static, deadpan, as if comatosed. It seems a lazy kind of photography and as if being a twin with ginger hair was a photographic necessity.

Not so with our 4 girls. Here they are active, demonstrative, their poise is their strength.

The image promises stories. Stories of who the girls are, where they are, how they got there, and what they are up to? The location to is heavy with suggestions. A resort? A public swimming pool? Open to all ? There are signs of economic well-being, a promise of pleasure. A place to be.

This is what we can see, what else can we find out?

The photograph was taken in Cape Town, Cape Town South Africa. Now we have a deeper story, a story embedded in the 4 confident girls and where they lie.

Zenande, Sinawe, Zinathi and Buhle at Sea Point Pavillion, Cape Town, South Africa

Apartheid in South Africa officially ended on the 27th of April 1994. Prior to that we can assume that black folk would not be allowed to share this pool with white folk.
Apartheid denied black people the use of so many public facilities for over 45 years. Yet here we are in 2024, four confident girls are letting us know that this is who they are, this is where they belong and this is us, seemingly unafraid.

Of course that many years of a traumatic way of life under apartheid does not simply disappear and go away. Embedded in these young girls minds must be a social memory of fear, hate, injustice and anger.

How well do our girls struggle to overcome this cultural memory ? How well do they overcome their hidden demons ? How well are they to cope with their rapidly changing world? How difficult is it to become proud of their black skin ?

They seem to be winning.

These four girls represent hope. That is why the image is ultimately appealing.

An afterthought: I was looking at the newspaper yesterday and came across this wonderful image. Another sign of hope