You meet interesting people everywhere. Some of the most intriguing womxn I have come across come from Johannesburg. It is with them, through taking their images, that I found raw beauty and authenticity. Here is a look at three lesser-known females.
Tash Brown
My first interactions with Tash were over social media after she had commented on some photography I did with her friends. I loved how sassy, witty and original her thoughts were. As we progressed to PM messaging she asked me to start a Burn Book with her over a cup of tea. I enjoyed this sassy film reference to the 00’s teen film Mean Girls directed by Mark Waters.
I met up with Tash on a Sunday morning at her home to photograph her. As I entered the door her mother offered me a cup of tea while she was busy preparing food in the green colored kitchen.
After my warm cup of tea was prepared, Tash and I moved to her room to select outfits for our shoot. We started working in her room and moved to the garden where I photographed her blending in with the greenery. We progressed to the spare room of the house where Tash pushed herself up against the window and hid behind the side curtain. Tash changed from her vintage floral shirt to a bralette and panties. It was amazing for me to see how comfortable Tash is with her body.
Tash is the kind of girl who can send you a perfectly articulated voice note while brushing her teeth. She changes her hair color sporadically this is done during bonding sessions with her boyfriend. She calls it “messing with her identity”. Her personality can only be described as vibrant. Everything about Tash is fascinating, from the way that she dresses in pale yellow thrift store dresses to the way that she speaks and the way that she paints. Tash even tap dances. She is currently a third year Fine Arts student at the University of the Witwatersrand and is inspired by artists like Tracey Rose, Dineo Bopape and Ryan Trecartin. Growing up with a mother who is an artist, Tash found her love for art as a child.
Tash describes her work as slipping between fantasy and tragedy. Her practice brings that which is hidden to the surface. The aesthetic value of her work is pink and over-stimulating which brings out the grotesqueness of her style. She relies on kitsch to symbolize the bad taste underlying in pop culture and the imagination. Her created fantasy becomes overbearing at times.
Her work strokes childhood innocence that is tainted. She relies on a balance of intimacy and isolation, depicting violence in a beautiful scene. Her work does not have a single message but holds on to a suggestive idea. Tash says in her artist’s statement that “A face doesn’t want to look like a face”. Have a look at her creations online.
Karen Du Bois
I first met Karen towards the end of last year when she started dating my best friend John. Initially I didn’t know what to make of her, as she was not very talkative. As time passed I got to know her, and her openness revealed itself. She can often be caught walking around singing to herself, as if she is creating a sound track to her day-to-day life. This is what I enjoy most about her.
I spent an evening at John’s place and the next morning I spontaneously decided to shoot Karen because I had my camera on me from a shoot the previous day. I applied some M.A.C Retro Matte lip colour on her full-formed lips and asked her to get into the tub with a white Adidas tee shirt.
As soon as Karen got into the water she immediately went into model mode and transformed from the quiet, pretty girl I had got to know. She was alive, embracing her womanhood and beauty. She was on fire, in her element and comfortable in her surroundings. Looking over my images the magnetism of her eyes is what grabbed me.
Karen has a beautifully raw yet soft childlike voice that echoes pure talent. She has recently completed her BCom Accounting at the University of Johannesburg. Her main focus right now is on making music, taking inspiration comes from Rihanna, A$APRocky, The Pixies and Amy Winehouse. She describes herself as experimenting with her limitations and has recently formed a band called The Black Panties with musician John Shepherd. She found her calling as a vocalist at church and was a part of the school choir growing up. The Black Panties’ musical style can be defined as edgy, and sometimes eerie, and falls within the death trap genre.
Give them a listen on soundcloud.
Rosa Elk
I met Rosa for the first time at a picnic in the Johannesburg Botanical Gardens when she was about 16 years old. From my first interaction with her, I was intrigued by how academically sound she was. Her knowledge on world history surpassed her age.
Meeting up with Rosa again years later was everything I thought it would be. As she walked up to my car to greet me she had a little dust on her because she had been working with archival material from the Wits Art Museum. Entering her room I saw a beautiful collection of artworks, and in her closet carefully hand-picked designer items that were minimal, striking and beautiful. While Rosa was selecting her wardrobe for our shoot I perused the titles of her books. All in mint condition, with titles such as On Photography by Susan Sontag.
Photographing Rosa was an interesting experience. We moved from her bedroom, that I felt said so much about her personality and attention to detail, to her garden that looks like a miniature version of the botanical garden where we first met. I was confronted the wildness of her garden and, as per usual not dressed for the occasion. I was climbing rocks in sandals in order to get the right angles for the shots.
Rosa has a spunkiness about her that I find refreshing. We brushed over many topics while shooting but the one that stuck out for me was our conversation about how children perceive the world. She mentioned that her younger cousin calls her garden “the jungle”. We indulged ourselves all afternoon with interesting conversations, an amazing collection of books and a cat called Madeline, flying up and down the scene of the shoot trying to catch tiny insects only she took notice of.
Rosa has a passion for art and although she can’t be considered a Fine Artist, she sure knows how to write about it. She has a BA degree in English and History of Art from the University of the Witwatersrand. Rosa can be found drinking cups of tea, reading books or crocheting. Her favorite artist is Lady Skollie. She loves collecting South African jewelry and is building an art collection that consists of student artist pieces.
