Bubblegum Club

Tag: challenging stereotypes

  • Dahlia Maubane: Woza sisi, woza nice!

    Dahlia Maubane: Woza sisi, woza nice!

    Woza Sisi is an exhibition that explores the ways in which women hairstylists working in Joburg CBD and Maputo manoeuvring through their days, as well as their strategic use of urban spaces. I caught up with photographer Dahlia Maubane to find out more about the project.

     

    What exactly inspired the ‘Woza Sisi’ project?

    I lived in Johannesburg CBD, and was fascinated by the influx of women doing hair. I was captivated by their idea of the mobile studio, comprising of a stool and a display board. I wanted to explore how they negotiate and navigate the space, those intersections and pavements in a busy town. There are so many street hairstylists everywhere, some in cliques of the same ethnicity. At first, it seemed interesting to investigate whether the hairstyles would differ in technique according to the hairstylist’s background or not as time progressed, I got interested in sharing their experiences as working mothers, breadwinners and wives. Also, one cannot miss their persuasive calling – Woza sisi, woza nice.

     The project ‘Woza Sisi’ has been an ongoing body of work since 2012, what has the process been like from then till now?

    Woza Sisi is an on-going body of work that explores women working as street hairstylists. I have been exploring how these women shape and navigate urban spaces, how they exist in these environments. I have produced four chapters of the project, looking at different spaces across Johannesburg, Mahikeng and Maputo.

    Throughout the years I have noticed how things have shifted, buildings have been developed, technology playing a role by making the process of attaining customers more convenient and also it has become more difficult to engage with the women because they want to be remunerated.

    I went back and photographed Johannesburg CBD and explored a bit of Maputo, the first time going across-boarder. This was the fourth segment of Woza Sisi, through the support of the Market Photo Workshop Alumnus Award.

    Through the critique sessions, I was told by my mentors to loosen up and experiment more. I have been photographing environmental portraits of the women street hairstylists, being conscious of who my subject is, and briefly understand her relationship with her surroundings. This time around I used a 4-way action sampler, a camera that develops a series of 4 images in one moment using 34mm film. The camera is compact, and enabled me to be invisible and steal moments in the vibrant cityscape. This is the only chapter where I didn’t interact with the women.

    Lastly, I have showcased the work in open-air exhibitions in proximity to where the women operate. It felt good introducing photography as visual language to the general public, seeing people read images and also become critical to what they are looking at. During these activations I would hand over customized business cards and t-shirts to the women that have participated, as a token of gratitude. This depends on funding. I want to empower them, and help them realise that branding is also important when building a business. I have also produced two editions of Woza Sisi zines.

    Most of the work was photographed in central town, Johannesburg. How do you approach your subjects?

    It’s always a thrilling experience going out to go photograph. I have to mentally condition myself before, visualize the type of images I would like to capture. I am also quite shy, so approaching a potential subject is not the easiest.

    At first, I would identify which women I would like to photograph, mostly determined by their character, or their surroundings – which visual elements stand out in that instance. It was much easier when I introduced myself as a photography student wanting to document women street hairstylists, because they wouldn’t want any payment. Nevertheless, I have now collected years of visual reference, so I can show them the type of work I have done previously. Its also a challenge explaining myself, the language barrier played a role. The trick is to have one woman agree and buy into the idea, the rest will definitely follow, plus I printed out their images and gave them without a fee.

    As a photographer, do you find it difficult to detach yourself from a project upon completion?

    It’s not the easiest thing to detach myself from a project, unless it’s commissioned work. All of my personal projects are ongoing. Although, I have not worked on them for years, I know I can go back and continue where I left off.

    Through most of your work, what would your main intention be?

    The main themes I explore are around the displaced, bringing visibility and interrogating stereotypes experienced by women. So, from women soccer players, who experience gender inequality, not given the same opportunities compared to men, foreign traders in small townships, who had to settle in our country because of political disputes or seeking greener pastures, to migrant street hairstylists negotiating spaces in the city of Johannesburg.

    What influences your work as a whole?

    As a woman in photography, I am interested in story-making and exploring issues around women, trying to be an advocate for their daily encounters. Be it, migrant women trading in busy Joburg CBD, interrogating concepts around strangeness and foreignness, how people come to function themselves in new or different spaces.

     What challenges have you faced throughout your career as a practicing photographer?

    The photography field is quite small, and we have witnessed how digital SLR cameras have become more accessible, and photography training is no longer a requirement when looking at commissioned work.

    Working as a commercial photographer, in my opinion, now depends on how much influence you have on social media. Some clients now feel they can negotiate lesser payments because “there is someone who will do the job less than the industry rates”.

    Also, I am yet to see photography appreciated as an art form, and have art buyers bring audiences to invest in the prints. It’s a challenge to work as an exhibiting photographer, producing work through the guidance of an art gallery in South Africa in my opinion.

     

  • Hasan and Husain Essop – Refuge

    Being 21st century visual artists is a challenge enough on its own! But add trying to tag “ambassador for your faith” on to that and that’s exactly the mission of Hasan and Husain Essop. In a world filled with media that revolves around villainizing the Islamic faith and labeling its followers “extremists”, the Essop’s are continuously seeking to challenge the representation of their religion, and work predominately through the medium of photography to reconstruct this perception.

    Images, such as clothing washed up on beaches, the incinerated remains of a bombed car and suitcase-carrying refugee families fleeing, are propelled around the world by the (predominately western) media of the horrifying casualties of the Syrian civil war. Along with this, issues such as ISIS and the ongoing “war on terror,” became the starting point for the exhibition. Not only for the distressing content but also because of the Essop’s knowledge that the fleeting nature of current media meant that it is here today and gone tomorrow. This exhibition was therefore a way to really analyze what we have been shown by the media of the conflict, the refugee crisis, and the resulting portrayal of both victims and perpetrators.

    Black terror, 2016. Pigment inks on cotton rag paper

    The brothers are intensely aware of their own position in the world, as young Muslim men. In appearance they fit the stereotypes. A passing comment made by Husain was that when he travels internationally, he travels clean-shaven, a decision informed by previous experiences with police, border officials and prejudicial travelers. This awareness of the space they occupy makes the work deeply personal, and yet universal in the way that it calls both the viewer and the media to check. They are afraid, afraid that the situation will get worse, that society will get more and more divisive and that their children will grow up experiencing more discrimination than they have themselves. Their subject matter is simultaneously both personal and political, giving it a narrative that resonates both on an individual and community level.

    The Essop’s use of the language of photography is an attempt to connect their message with as many people as possible. Their photographs are particularly striking in the way that they highlight how images are constructed, and in turn, the effect this has on society. Painstakingly weaving together multiple images to create a single image, this level of control ironically mimics the subtlety with which the media is able to circulate images perpetuating a particular perception about Muslim people and other minority groups. The realization that these are carefully and intentionally fabricated images, forces us to realize for a moment that our own perceptions could potentially have been similarly fabricated. In using photography as their primary medium, not only do they have to deal with the ethics of representation that face all photographers practicing today, but the orthodox view that depictions of the human form are haram [forbidden], further complicates their position. However, they feel that they have managed to find ways of negotiating these complex terrains, predominately through their decision to photograph only themselves.

    Beached, 2016. Pigment inks on cotton rag paper

    Whilst there is a definite gravitas to the show and the themes it tackles, a number of images contain a wry humour, especially in the way that they re-work well-known western icons of pop culture such as the Hulk, Batman and Spiderman, inserting Islamic cultural items to highlight the caricaturing and stereotyping of Muslims, and the relationship American culture in particular, plays in shaping the world. This they feel is not only important in drawing the viewers in, but also in giving their work a bit of character, allowing a side of their own personalities to shine through.

    Speaking with Hasan and Husain, it was clear that this particular exhibition is an important and special moment for both of them. The twin brothers, who were the Standard Bank Young Artist Award winners in 2014, have been exhibiting with Goodman Gallery for ten years. Much has changed for both of them during this period. Beginning with their decision to work collaboratively in 2006, they have continued to push the boundaries of their photographic technique and expand on the themes embedded in their body of work in the years since then. They both now have families of their own, and have had to readjust to changes in their working relationship, particularly with Husain and his family relocating to Saudi Arabia a year ago. Refuge is the brothers’ third solo exhibition with Goodman Gallery, and there is an artistic maturity that is starting to show through their work, especially in their increasing confidence to expand into other mediums such as film and installation, which is presented alongside their photographs. The use of a tent presented as a precarious raft shows a sensitivity to the subtleties of working with found materials, suggesting both the dangers facing the refugees as they escape over the sea, and the minimal shelter that is often provided when they reach the land. Not only does Refuge show an increasing mastery of their mediums but also in the way they stretch, combat, and play with concepts.

    Mass Grave, 2017. Lightjet C-print on archival paper

    Finally, it must be mentioned that the brothers are both full-time Art educators, and while this gives them the financial freedom and stability to provide for their families, it means that they do have to sacrifice time and energy from their practice. They don’t begrudge their day-jobs however, rather they are appreciative of the relieved pressure to make art that sells. They now have the freedom to hone in on their concepts without facing pressure from an art market that is quick to dictate what work artists should make. Knowing this, there is a feeling that their role as educators may have even begun to influence their role as artists, especially how their art takes on an educational slant in itself, seeking to inform and reshape misconstrued perceptions regarding Muslims. Perhaps what they have identified is the possibility that ignorance is a major factor behind the polarising fear we see increasing in society. If they can inform that ignorance, perhaps the growing fear will also diminish.

    Check out Refuge at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg until the 19th of August.