
Documentary photography - The Town We Live in
The Town We Live In is a critical view and documentation of not only the people that live in Durbanville but also the spaces they occupy. Exploring the tense relationship between subject and location, the project paints a surreal glimpse into the life of the subject matter. The choice of people together with the setting played a significant role in my life. They may be familiar with the environment in which they find themselves but being knowingly captured in it at times evoke eerie feelings.
Placing the subject matters in particular ways, the portraits tend to be minimalistic at times. This project has always been grounded in documenting the emotions of the subjects, no matter how staged the photograph. I think of my project as unfinished fragments of stories, photographs, places and eras. They are improvisational moments in which the constructed idea of time and the outside world become irrelevant.
2021