Lensman brings indignities from lack of sanitation into plain sight
Winning the Ernest Cole Award has enabled photographer Masixole Feni to share an insider’s perspective, writes Janine Stephen
Drivers commuting past the shacks and houses that line the N2 in Cape Town might see children crouched on the sandy verges, relieving themselves. An early picture photographer Masixole Feni took of a little girl doing so beside the highway — pink garment gathered and clutched safely in her hands — sharpened his focus on the indignities and hardships of everyday life without access to sanitation. The lack of toilets in informal settlements are a flash point for igniting service delivery protests in Cape Town. That first image inspired Feni, 29, to confront "the issues no one really wanted to talk about" and turn his lens to the difficult subject of sanitation. The results now glare from the walls of the Centre for African Studies Gallery at the University of Cape Town (UCT). The exhibition, A Drain on our Dignity: An Insider’s Perspective, is the culmination of Feni’s 2015 Ernest Cole Award win. The R150,000 prize was used to complete the promising body of work he had begun as a youn...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.