Interior Relations

South Africa is a nation of vivid contradictions; from the breathtaking landscapes and glittering cities, to the extremes of poverty and crime often associated with war-torn and non-industrialized countries. This project explores what some have described as the deep fault line between the country’s public democratic ideals and the ongoing racial and economic inequality that circumscribes the lived experiences of a large majority of black South Africans more than a decade after apartheid’s end. Interior Relations is a series focused specifically on the lives of domestic workers—nannies and maids—who seemingly embody the daily reproduction of apartheid-era relations in the present day. Yet they may also simultaneously represent the very foundation of the social and economic change hoped for when Mandela was first elected in 1994. Many of these women are supporting children that for the first time are receiving advanced educations that will afford them new opportunities in the next generation—opportunities to work in industries where they will work alongside white South Africans. The cultural institution of domestic service, so engrained in South African culture, also provides many opportunities for an unusual level of intimacy and understanding that bridges the gulf an enormous gulf in ethnicity, culture, education and poverty that characterizes much of South Africa today.

The women in these images were photographed in the homes of their white employers using a 4x5 view camera and color negative film. They were asked to dress in their “favorite” clothes as a means to express their own identity within that environment. It was important that the subjects became active participants in the making of their portraits. The final prints are 30”x40” Chromogenic prints.