The Search for a New South African Identity
Botchabelo, 2014 © Sean Metelrkamp, idiosyncrasies
By 1994, the apartheid that segregated the white minority with the black majority in South Africa had ended. In 2014, three local photographers decided to travel the country and photograph what in their opinion, was a new South African identity. Musée had the chance to speak with two of the travelers, Sean Metelerkamp and Sipho Mpongo, to find out how their, Twenty Journey project explored their home country 20 years after democracy, and how their personal experiences are reflected in their photographs.
Nqamakwe, 2014 © Sean Metelrkamp, idiosyncrasies.
Metelerkamp’s part of the project, Idiosyncrasies, became a reflection of his own search for identity – something that he did not look for when embarking on their journey. Being a white, middle class English-speaking South African Metelerkamp often subjected himself to the feeling of "white guilt".
"I suppose, it happens to a lot of white people in South Africa. We mingle between these two classes, we see the homeless," he told Musee. "I rid myself of all the guilt. I realized it has no benefit to myself or to the person I am projecting it on."
Qunu, 2014 © Sean Metelrkamp, idiosyncrasies.
While he was young, Metelerkamp could not apprehend what was the source of racial tensions in his country, which made him move to New York to escape the tension. Still looking for closure after working on music videos, the artist went back to South Africa in 2012. There, he met two other local photographers, Wikus de Wet and Mpongo, and the Twenty Journey project was born.
"South Africa is so charged racially. We were tired of hearing of what the county was like on TV, we needed to see it for ourselves. The point for me was to learn something about myself, and change."
Philipstown, 2014 © Sean Metelrkamp, idiosyncrasies.
Monzi, 2014 © Sean Metelrkamp, idiosyncrasies.
The result of Metelerkamp's explorations is a diverse set of photos, from a still life featuring a butchered cow laying in someone's doorway to a naked black man running through a field of grass. When he started his photographic journey, Metelerkamp submerged himself into street photography; he took pictures everywhere, every day. This project is a homage to that style, as Metelerkamp captures scenes that are random and unexpected, yet incredibly telling.
Beaufort West, 2014 © Sean Metelerkamp, Idiosyncrasies
Mpongo, a black South African photographer participating in the project, approached it through a much different side. His series, Born Free gets its name from the contemprorary generation of South African youth that were born around or after the fall of the apartheid. In his photographs, Mpongo searches for the new definition of what it means to be South African, as his country faces further inequality and injustice issues on its path to democracy.
Xhosa girls in Qunu Village, 2014 © Sipho Mpongo, Born Free
Mpongo’s pieces support the modern identity of of a young South African, portraying individuals as non-conforming and fluid. While living with the scars of the past, the people in his photographs defy societal norms as they attempt to transcend identity and personality crises inflicted by the fall of the old system and the establishment of democracy.
Poor White Family in Krugersdorp, 2014 © Sipho Mpongo, Born Free
Two girls buying candy in Benoni, 2014 © Sipho Mpongo, Born Free
"The youth is challenging everything and that is an ideal way to look at the new South Africa. The concept of ‘born-free’ is problematic, but it has positive connotation to it. It is more envisioning the possibility of a united South Africa, but we have problems and inequality is evident."
The beginning of the 21st Century marked an incredible surge in countries going through democratic transitions. Mpongo and Metelerkamp are fascinating examples of how photographers, driven by a desire to understand their heritage, nation and themselves better, can capture the changes that transition forces upon society.
You can view more of Metelerkamp's works here and here.
To see more of Mpongo's works click here, or follow him on Instagram.
Maskhandi Traditional Musician in St Lucia, 2014 © Sipho Mpongo, Born Free
