YOUTH CULTURE
Being part of the youth in South Africa is about putting in our own work, we fight for human rights, we unpack everything, we question everything and we fact check. This leaves no room for people who are problematic, small minded, close minded and ignorant. We are constantly learning, unlearning and relearning to understand ourselves, each other and the world better. We are not afraid of speaking out and up. Future generations will be thankful for the legacy we have created, we have sparked a different way of thought. We are more connected than ever, we are empathetic, we are listeners and we take the time to find out more about each other.
For this project I wanted to unpack my own echo chamber, I wanted to represent my friends for how I see them. My vision was to take photographs of my best friends. Our friend group is constantly questioning the way of thought, society, social norms and big issues within our world. As a friend group we are extremely expressive in the way that our minds work. Their minds and creativity shows how expressive they are. I visually represented how I see them, by styling them crazy and wearing colourful and bright clothing. I see how expressive they are and I want the world to see how I see them. I did this by shooting in my friends digs in Cape Town, its a safe space for all of us. We have all had the most beautiful rich conversations there and for all of us that is our home.
I specifically focused on my friends that are women, they are constantly teaching me everything. They inspire me more than anyone I know and I am so happy to have such amazing friends that support me in everything I do, they are there for me and in this photo series I represented how I see their love, support and warm energy. My main theme for this year is going against the male gaze and in this series specifically I feel as if I have done that. I am empowering them in the most authentic way possible. I am allowing them to feel safe and have a voice. We had such a beautiful day and everyone was so happy.
This photo series hasn’t just been an in the moment feeling, it has brought a sense of joy to all of us still to this day and will continue to do so. We are young, strong women and I am happy to be able to document this. In previous generations this wouldn’t be allowed, it would be seen as taboo, a man would have probably taken these photos and wouldn’t get the feeling of authenticity. Our generation is defying and defining everything. As women photographers we are taking over the male dominated industry. My photography class is 95% women and that is such an amazing progress, we are redefining everything and switching up what the older generation expects of us. We don’t back down, we are strong willed and will fight for our space. We will take up space and be who we want to be. We will not change or dull ourselves down for anyone. We are each-other and we are strong, important and represented.
I tackled the topic of conformity as in boarding school I always felt like I had to box myself in and conform to what those around me were doing. This hurt me and made me feel constricted, I eventually started breaking rules of identity and began to feel myself again. All of my models are constantly challenging conformity and being true to themselves. I wanted to document this as anyone can pull anything off and continue to inspire other people that are still conforming to the conventional norms but too scared to break out of it. This photo series is for them, it is to inspire women to be themselves, to take up space and to be strong. It is not just a representation of who my friends are but it is a representation of how women should never be afraid.
"WHEN SHE STOPPED CONFORMING TO THE CONVENTIONAL PICTURE OF FEMININITY SHE FINALLY BEGAN TO ENJOY BEING A WOMAN"
-BETTY FRIEDAN
