STAD-CITY : The rebirth of the prospector
STAD-CITY : Joburger’s as seen by artist, in residence, Alastair Mclachlan, from one perspective for over 10 years :
Directions to Johannesburg, as with most other South African cities, are still marked with a sign that simply reads STAD / CITY.
It's not a flashy sign and it's hardly intended to incite or excite any expectation or promise. It's an antiquated and a purely utilitarian sign. It's simple to understand but hard to read without tripping on the juxtaposed languages. STAD / CITY is an innocuous phrase that belies the complexity of Johannesburg and reduces it to a simple bilingual matter of fact… but it lingers like history, hard to forget.
Johannesburg is cosmopolitan, complicated and hard to understand but the reason she exists is simple, Johannesburg is pregnant with prospect. Everything in Johannesburg is for sale and signs that prospecting is good are everywhere.
At odds with this belief that Johannesburg is the city of gold, where fortunes are made, is the notion of Johannesburg as home.
Sundays, holidays, off-days and in-between days in central Johannesburg are colourful. For the most part they are free of the usual traffic and hustle, a quiet respite that offers a glimpse of her soft underbelly. Days for rest, laundry, worship, being human and taking Photos.
Johannesburg central underwent something of a decline in the 1980s and 1990s when property speculators directed large amounts of capital into suburban shopping malls, decentralised office parks, and entertainment centres. It is currently experiencing a flush of rejuvenation and speculative interest. The intervening years, which these photos indirectly bare witness to, represent a period of remarkable and famous change in South African history.
Johannesburg is in constant flux and although there is always palpable excitement and hope in the air there is also a sense that she is precariously balanced.
The narrative is complex, complete with a whole gambit of human emotions. The dichotomy is real, disparity is glaring but…
there is a rhythm and a ritual that becomes community : bonding models of warmth and conviviality juxtaposed with deep sorrow in alienation and exile.
These photos and my prolonged meditation are testament to my material devotion to telling her whole story but also a compulsive response to her extraordinary beauty and surreal displays of grandeur and absurdity.
These photos, like the plastic bag caught in barbed wire, represents, so concisely, my bitter-sweet love for my city.
I hope these images of Johannesburg convey and engage both the reality of social context whilst providing a place for the world of your imagination. I hope that the stories come through… of how she is without make-up, undressed on a rooftop.
Directions to Johannesburg, as with most other South African cities, are still marked with a sign that simply reads STAD / CITY.
It's not a flashy sign and it's hardly intended to incite or excite any expectation or promise. It's an antiquated and a purely utilitarian sign. It's simple to understand but hard to read without tripping on the juxtaposed languages. STAD / CITY is an innocuous phrase that belies the complexity of Johannesburg and reduces it to a simple bilingual matter of fact… but it lingers like history, hard to forget.
Johannesburg is cosmopolitan, complicated and hard to understand but the reason she exists is simple, Johannesburg is pregnant with prospect. Everything in Johannesburg is for sale and signs that prospecting is good are everywhere.
At odds with this belief that Johannesburg is the city of gold, where fortunes are made, is the notion of Johannesburg as home.
Sundays, holidays, off-days and in-between days in central Johannesburg are colourful. For the most part they are free of the usual traffic and hustle, a quiet respite that offers a glimpse of her soft underbelly. Days for rest, laundry, worship, being human and taking Photos.
Johannesburg central underwent something of a decline in the 1980s and 1990s when property speculators directed large amounts of capital into suburban shopping malls, decentralised office parks, and entertainment centres. It is currently experiencing a flush of rejuvenation and speculative interest. The intervening years, which these photos indirectly bare witness to, represent a period of remarkable and famous change in South African history.
Johannesburg is in constant flux and although there is always palpable excitement and hope in the air there is also a sense that she is precariously balanced.
The narrative is complex, complete with a whole gambit of human emotions. The dichotomy is real, disparity is glaring but…
there is a rhythm and a ritual that becomes community : bonding models of warmth and conviviality juxtaposed with deep sorrow in alienation and exile.
These photos and my prolonged meditation are testament to my material devotion to telling her whole story but also a compulsive response to her extraordinary beauty and surreal displays of grandeur and absurdity.
These photos, like the plastic bag caught in barbed wire, represents, so concisely, my bitter-sweet love for my city.
I hope these images of Johannesburg convey and engage both the reality of social context whilst providing a place for the world of your imagination. I hope that the stories come through… of how she is without make-up, undressed on a rooftop.