I decided to photograph environmental portraits showing the people that live in the early years post apartheid in the Ansleys building. The Ansteys Building is an art deco building in the city of Johannesburg.The building faced demolition in 1989 but was saved by its status as a national monument.The building has a diverse demographic and it has become a popular place for young middle-class people to live in town. The building is also home to an HIV education centre and also to the Urban Arts Platform, an initiative to encourage city residents to engage in arts of all forms (ref: Wikipedia). This building located on Joubert Str, was once upon a time for white people then black only to finish of with a mix of, whites, blacks and Indians. This country in a post-apartheid situation seems to see a slow change in the associating of class and colour. These people's lifestyle stands out from the old stereotype of poor blacks in townships and rich whites in suburbs.
This body of work is titled “ The Nation's make over “.
This concept came up when I started reflecting on the difference between developed countries and countries developing. We have this “ new class” often refereed to “middle class” growing in a few countries such as Nigeria and South Africa. Me being here, and knowing how it is in European countries allows me to observe this situation differently. The question I was asking myself was who are these people? What do they do? But especially where and how do they live?
