Homelands

Since 2012, I’ve been doing documentary work in Woodlane Village – a squatter camp in Pretoria. The informal settlement is home to 3000 people living in 846 shacks. The camp is located in the  wealthy suburb of Moreleta Park and is surrounded by mansions and shopping malls.

This project explores the complexities of social and economic inclusion in contemporary South Africa. Scenes of everyday life provide an intimate view of Woodlane Village: a place of promise and heartache; a place of perseverance and faith; a place where personal histories reveal complex social truths.

This work was recognised by the News Photographers Association of Canada in the 2017 National Pictures of the Year Awards Competition. The photos were also winners in the photojournalism category of the PDN Photo Annual 2018. HOMELANDS was also featured in Newsweek Japan.

Images and stories from this project were published in June 2019 by Daylight Books to coincide with the 25th Anniversary of South Africa’s first open election (See: the BOOK).