I cut my photographic teeth in so-called Struggle photography. Struggle photographers is a name a handful of us acquired for our role in documenting the process of societal transition in South Africa. Its one we wear with pride, despite the fact that we are probably a lot more than that. But what it does suggest is that we were and are activist photographers, and there’s no escaping that.
The process of change in South Africa is one that confounded many people. Some thought it was impossible and futile to confront the apartheid machine, others thought it would end in carnage, most seemed resigned to a fate in its control. Ordinary South Africans rose to heights they didn’t think possible and in the process became highly politicized. Today, one of the differences between them and their neighbours is that South Africans are politically contientised and organised.
