Kelly McCann

Downtown

Exhibition catalogue includes aninterview with photographer

Photographs by:Kelly McCannkelmccann@gmail.com

Interviewed and Curated by:Laura Hensserlaura@viewfinder.org.uk

Edited by:Lisa Robertsoneditor@viewfinder.org.uk

Designed by:Mandana Ahmadvazirdesigner@viewfinder.org.uk

Also available as a colour, e-publication:http://viewfinder.org.uk/exhibitions/viewpoints/catalogue

Text by:Kelly McCannShelby StapletonNiall MellonAfrika Moni

Exhibition in support of:

Niall Mellon Township Trust

All Out Africa

Sponsored by:Take Better Pictures

Take Better Pictures is dedicated to helping you make better use of your Digital SLR camera. Whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced photographer we can offer you relevant photography courses.

Openvizor

www.openvizor.com

Exhibition printed by:

Martel Colour Printwww.martelcolourprint.co.uk

Exhibition hosted by: Underground Gallery

Published by:Viewfinder Photography Gallery

www.viewfinder.org.uk

First published October 2011© The artists and authors. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarilythe views of the publisher orthe editors.

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Introduction by Kelly McCann

Hout Bay is stunning. A little suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, surrounded by mountains, the ocean, white sands and wine farms.

This suburb’s properties are some of the finest in Cape Town forming a selection of middle-class and affluent neighbourhoods that border a pretty little fishing village, harbour and beach. The bay has been described as a luxury retreat attracting more and more tourists and home buyers every year.

Hout Bay covers an area of over 1,500 hectares with an estimated population of 42,000. Extending across just 18 hectares (about a 10th of the size of London’s Hyde Park), along a mountainside, sitting back to back with Hout Bay’s luxury dwellings is Imizamo Yethu. This partially informal settlement is home to over 30,000 of Hout Bay’s total population.

Imizamo Yethu is one of many townships in the Cape Town area whose residents struggle against a severe lack of infrastructure and safe living environments.

Conditions in the township are poor, with many residing in informal shacks that have no direct access to water or electricity. The population is growing daily with more and more people migrating to the area, creating a density problem that the Government is unable to keep up with.

The health hazards in Imizamo Yethu are many, with risk of illnesses such as TB and HIV constantly looming. Furthermore, the ever present danger of quick spreading fire, due to poor facilities and conditions, is a constant threat and prevents the personal and communal development of the township’s inhabitants.

Various initiatives are at work to make improvements in the settlement, and Imizamo Yethu has a welcoming, hopeful and lively spirit. To a visitor, it is remarkable to observe this struggle for residents to perform the simple tasks of daily life.

The exhibition title ‘Downtown’ has been inspired by the residents of the township who like to refer to the big houses on the mountain as ‘Beverly Hills’. ‘Downtown’ highlights the continuation of day to day living in Imizamo Yethu, despite the shocking conditions that the residents here contend with. The clothes on the washing line, the children’s toys, the family photographs and the little boy playing with a vuvuzela – a remnant of the World Cup whirlwind that had held so much hope for those in desperate need of development.

These ‘ordinary’ aspects of life are, in a way, just as surprising as the whole reality of life for the inhabitants of Imizamo Yethu.

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A Word From Othersby Shelby StapletonAll Out Africa

Organisations are at work to support the township on its developing journey:

All Out Africa is an organisation that implements research, information sharing, capacity building, education and community development projects through recruitment and management of volunteers. In Hout Bay, their projects support 12 creches and preschools in Imizamo Yethu, local schools, home-based care medical services and business development projects.

“Emerging from its apartheid history South Africa's townships are poverty stricken and HIV / AIDS ravaged with many children left orphaned and vulnerable. Imizamo Yethu is a unique example of a South African township – its name, meaning “through collective effort” is a testament to its past. Most townships come as a result of city occupants being “relocated”, whereas in Hout Bay the residents decided that in order to better their lives and move forward they needed to work together, which resulted in the township being built.

Imizamo Yethu, popularly known as Mandela Park, is a township on the slopes of Hout bay and is home to many locals, refugees and immigrants.

The squatters were attracted to the area by employment opportunities created by the fishing industry and by the expansion of housing developments. Now home to more than 36,000 people it is a bustling economy of its own - the residents have instigated their own recycling program, rubbish removal, soup kitchens and seniors shelters. Almost all of the residents live in small corrugated iron shacks measuring about 9ft x 9ft. Few have running water in their homes and most are forced to share outside sanitation facilities.”

October 2011

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A Word From Othersby Niall MellonNiall Mellon Township Trust

The Niall Mellon Township Trust works with volunteers and townships across South Africa to build much needed housing. Whilst this cannot solve all of the residents’ problems, it does go a long way to creating a safer environment for many township inhabitants. Imizamo Yethu has benefited from hundreds of houses built by the Trust in recent years.

“In 2002, I was so deeply moved by the plight of impoverished families in the Townships of South Africa that I set up the Township Trust with a view to doing something concrete about it. And concrete was the operative word. Over the intervening years, I’ve been joined by thousands of wonderfully generous Irish volunteers – some skilled, some not – to take part in an annual Building Blitz which has housed over 80,000 people to date.

This isn’t just about providing shelter – it’s also about restoring dignity to some of the poorest of the poor in South Africa. And at the same time as we’re transforming the lives of South Africans, our volunteers are also transforming their own lives. It really is difficult to imagine any other week of the year in which they can make so much of a difference to their fellow human beings.”

March 2011

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A Word From Othersby Afrika MoniImizamo Yethu

Afrika Moni, resident of the township, displays his own exhibition of photographs in his home, built by the Trust.

“The Niall Mellon Township Trust is a benchmark of transition in the lives of the people who live in the Townships of South Africa.

It is no wonder that it has become so important to keep [Niall Mellon’s] legacy alive. The photographs on the wall in my home show evidence of the work that has been done by throngs of men and women who came from Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland. Niall Mellon persuaded many people all over the world to forget their own troubles and work collectively to build homes for those most in need. More than 30 million rand was raised in Ireland in the year 2002 as a bridging finance to kick-start the housing development for 500 families in Imizamo Yethu.

So, the exhibition is really to restore the history of the work that has been done in this township by the Trust. In 2012, the Niall Mellon Township Trust will celebrate its tenth anniversary. In that year the people of Cape Town will be celebrating the contributions of the people of Great Britain.

The theme of my photographic exhibition is “Transforming Lives: from this to that” - or, if you like, “from a shack to a house”.

Thank you.

Regards from the nation, and good luck.”

October 2011

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Interview with:Kelly McCannby Laura Hensser

• What inspired you to travel to Imizamo Yethu?I visited South Africa as part of a wider trip in 2010. Cape Town was the last stop of a country-wide tour, during which I had already experienced the extreme imbalance of the place. I had already passed many other townships but not yet visited one, so Imizamo Yethu was my last chance before returning to the UK. This became the first of many visits over the following months. I just wanted to know, and understand more.

• Were you aware of the level of poverty out there before you left?I had a mixed impression of South Africa before visiting. I have a couple of South African friends and British friends who have lived there. What I knew was that there were dangerous parts of the country, which I suppose I put down to some amount of poverty and the legacy of apartheid. But generally, I thought that South Africa was a fully developed and relatively wealthy country, with popular tourist attractions and great scenery.

• What shocked you the most about the way people live in Imizamo Yethu?I think what shocked me the most is the contrast between the way the residents live in the township and the lifestyles of those in the rest of Hout Bay. That is not to judge, and I know that this imbalance is prevalent in countries all over the world.

• How did you feel as an outsider photographing the people, and were they welcoming?I was very apprehensive at first. I didn’t want to intrude or make people feel uncomfortable but I quickly relaxed and found that people were very welcoming. I made sure to always ask before I took a photograph and most of the time, it was accompanied by a bit of a chat.

Most visits were spent with a township resident called Afrika Moni. Afrika is passionate about his home and, on hearing of my plans to exhibit, was really supportive and helped me to integrate with the other residents. I couldn’t have done it without him!

• You could say your work has slight political connotations, did you think about this when you were photographing?Yes I did, I thought about that a lot. I found it to be a constant argument with myself when questioning the purpose of my project. Apartheid in South Africa is, officially, no longer. But it cannot be ignored and the problems in the townships must be a part of the regime’s legacy. However, there are many, many factors contributing to the issues that the people of South Africa face and these too, must not be ignored.

• As a documentary photographer did you find it hard to keep a distance to the subject?Physically or emotionally? It’s quite difficult to take a decent shot with five or six excited little kids pulling at your camera!

I did find it quite difficult at times to listen to stories of some of the residents about the way that they live and the problems they cope with on a day to day basis.

• Was there a particular message you wanted to get across to the audience?When I started the project, I just wanted to share what I had learnt in South Africa as I had been so shocked, amazed and touched by the time that I spent there. I wanted others, who may have had the same, somewhat naïve impression of the country to see another side of it.

At the same time, I didn’t want to just focus on, or exploit, the hardships. You feel so much more than that, you see beyond it when you’re visiting because the people overcome it. You can’t help but be overwhelmed by the warmth and openness and I wanted this to come through too. I miss the place on a regular basis!

• Will you be going back out to Imizamo Yethu to document future developments?I do hope to go back to Imizamo Yethu, I would like to keep up to date with how the place develops and look for opportunities to support its journey and any future initiatives.

• Your photographs provide a great insight into a world not a lot of individuals in western worlds get to see, do you have any plans to make more people aware of the situation out in Imizamo Yethu?

The current project features some images of the rest of Hout Bay. These highlight the obvious differences and have a quiet and empty feel about them – which is representative of my experience there. I plan on expanding the project to incorporate more of Hout Bay and the lives of residents in the entire area, as one community.

• How does this series relate to your other work, what are your plans for the future?I like to document London and its diversity. I intend to continue this work along the trend of the many social divides in our capital and have begun work on a number of projects to support that. I have just embarked on a Masters Degree in the History of Art and Photography which will keep me busy too but also, hopefully, widen my horizons and inspire my future endeavours.

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