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Dark City Daylight

Johannesburg’s densely-populated Alexandra township has held many roles since its inception in 1904, from its early days as a freewheeling freehold kingdom where blacks could buy their own land to a centre of activism against encroaching apartheid policy in the 1940s and 1950s through to its position as South Africa’s “Beirut” under the nation’s State of Emergency of the 1980s. Today Alexandra is among South Africa’s highest profile townships and is a place where historical prejudices and modern day open-mindedness form an uneasy truce.

The following street portraits are from a day spent exploring the township.

Foot traffic outside a decaying worker's hostel. Re-envisioned during the height of apartheid as a "hostel city", only three of the single-sex behemoths were ever built in Alexandra, each housing an estimated 10000 people.
Foot traffic outside a decaying worker’s hostel. Re-envisioned during the height of apartheid as a “hostel city”, only three of the single-sex behemoths were ever built. Each house an estimated 10000 people and are all still in operation.
Residents tend to early morning washing in an Alexandra squatter camp.
Residents tend to early morning washing in an Alexandra squatter camp.
Sunrise bottles clear and green.
Sunrise bottles clear and green.
Township dwellers buy still-warm 'fat cakes' on their way to the taxi rank.
Township dwellers buy still-warm ‘fat cakes’ on their morning walk to the taxi rank.
Police presence.
Police presence.
The rooftops of a recently-electrified shanty block.
The rooftops of a recently-electrified shanty block.
A morning walk against rainbow flats.
A morning walk against rainbow flats.
Rainbow washing against rainbow flats. Only one toilet serves this thirty-one household "yard" of shacks.
Rainbow washing against rainbow flats.
Comings and goings.
Comings and goings. Only one toilet serves this thirty household “yard” of shacks.
Alexandra resident George Mashile sorts through clothing in his one room shack.
Alexandra resident George Mashile sorts through clothing in his one room shack.
Hail
Hail.
Fresh faces and fresher paint
Fresh faces and fresher paint.
Tuck shop commerce outside the women's hostel.
Tuck shop commerce outside the women’s hostel.
Standing water in the brick jungle.
Standing water in the brick jungle.
A child runs through one of the sweeping courtyards of the women's hostel.
A child runs through one of the sweeping courtyards of the women’s hostel.
A kettle boils as two girls do dishes in one of the hostel's industrial-sized kitchens.
A kettle boils as two girls do dishes in one of the hostel’s industrial-sized kitchens.
Sunlit parallelogram.
Sunlit parallelogram.
Laundry under the watchful eye of Jacob Zuma.
Laundry under the watchful eye of Jacob Zuma.
Pedestrian Routes Along the Jukskei River.
Pedestrian routes along the Jukskei River.
Burnt tones.
Burnt tones.
Opposing faces on either side.
Opposing faces on either side.
Temp
Expectant taxis waiting at the taxi rank.
Two boys follow a bottle cap as it flows down a roadside gutter.
Two boys follow a bottle cap as it flows down a roadside gutter creek.
Silhouettes and an obstacle.
Two silhouettes and an obstacle.
Kids watch a tyre fire from a ridge of dredged-up construction materials.
Kids watch a tyre fire from a ridge of dredged-up construction materials.
A hand points to an abandoned and unfinished housing project in Alexandra's Far East Bank extension.
A hand points to an abandoned and unfinished housing project in Alexandra’s Far East Bank extension.
Island in a road in a frame.
Island in a road in a frame.

Check out Will’s blog Steeltown Blues for another angle on the same day’s exploration.

Related posts:

  1. The Township as Spectacle
  2. Inner City Isolated
  3. Cut Scenes from Zimbabwe’s Dark Decade
  4. City Butcher
  5. A News Story From Beginning to End

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 11th, 2009 at 6:52 pm and is filed under Africa, Photo Essays and tagged with , , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

One Response to “Dark City Daylight”

  1. Will says:
    August 11, 2009 at 7:03 pm

    Love the pipeline silhouette and the last frame. Some great shots here. We should get to Alex again sometime!

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