Sally Gaule Photography course facilitator Claire BenitGbaffou Workshop
Sally Gaule – Photography course facilitator Claire Benit-Gbaffou – Workshop facilitator Wits November 2010 Muller Street Portrait Wits students photographs commented by Muller street residents Residents were asked to chose, amongst 48 pictures (using stickers) : - The two pictures they liked the best -The two pictures they disliked the most - The two pictures that they thought capture the best Muller street ‘as it is’
Picture 1 – Jarred Pincus “It’s not so nice. It’s very dirty”. “There is a lady outside, she is busy cleaning - Magogo cleaning the floor. It is not so bad. There is a good tree, it makes the street fresh”. Box for Dots
Picture 2 – Michael Flanagan “It shows that Muller is still underdeveloped. It has old houses, old cars. You need to have new houses – the old houses show that you still live in the old days. I also don’t like the fact you can see the dustbin outside. ” “It is so untidy! I wish that dustbin could go behind the house. The window is not maintained. Otherwise l like the position of the car, the rust on the car is nice. ” Box for Dots
Picture 3 - Megan Sharland “It is nice, there are flowers, it’s clean around the house and I like the shape of the house. ” “I don’t think the house is beautiful but the gate is. ” “ The gate could have been painted. Mostly the picture depicts the depreciation of the street. ” Box for Dots
Picture 4 - Natalie Moore This place does not look like Yeoville or Muller Street. It’s like we are somewhere else, it is nice. It brings feelings of security, with the fencing and the flowers. I feel safe. Nothing can go inside, it is safe, clean; there are flowers. It is protected. I like it. I like the trees, and the hedge and the distance from the gate to the house. It’s eyecatching. . Box for Dots
Picture 5 – Megan Sharland “That boy looks so peaceful. . . He feels secure. Like: I’m fine, I’m safe. ” Box for Dots
Picture 6 – Bianca Fizzotti “It is nice, you have flowers in front and a security gate, it looks as if people look after the house. ” “I’ve got a bad memory about number 6. They robbed me there. Somebody stole my bag at the corner and rushed to the house. Other people saw what was happening and followed them into the house and brought my bag back. That house does not have a wall, no fence, no hedge, it is just open. ” Box for Dots
Picture 7 – Michael Flanagan I like this house…It’s different…It is the only one that stands out …[it] has this pottery thing. It’s got its own design, this old design. It’s very nice. This house reminds me of the picture of the bundu lands, not the urban areas. A white man stays there. It’s very dirty. Those [roof] tiles are on the floor, there about 2040 cats and dogs - you won’t say a white man stays there! Box for Dots
Picture 8 a and b – Mwezi Mcingwane & James Norwood. Young “This man looks like one of those from back home, starring outside at the kids and wondering where his goats are. ” “I also like this madala of mine. It shows we still have our old people with us. Most of us are younger people. But it is good. We are taking care of him. ” “It is a good thing that we have old people here. It is a blessing. ” Box for Dots
Picture 9 – Mwezi Mcingwane “The person should put order in his own house. OK, it is a pawn shop, but try and put some order ubekuhle [so that it is nice]. Otherwise I’ll say, ah, I can’t go there. “ “The owner is not a businessperson as the stuff comes on to the pavement and does not leave any room [on the pavement]. ” Box for Dots
Picture 10 – Rebecca Mc. Nally No comment from community so far Box for Dots
Picture 11 – Bianca Fizzotti “I don’t like the big tree—it looks distracting, falling on top of the roof. Nature isn’t being taken care of; we should be cutting the trees [down]. ” Box for Dots
Mwezi Mcingwane No comment from community so far. Box for Dots
Picture 13 – Shanna Miles “The kids can no longer sit there because there is no more green grass. There’s nothing. They are not doing anything with the park, it is dead. There used to be someone watching that place, now there is no one, they are vandalizing it. ” “There are patrols in the street and there always people in the park up, until eight at night because it is kept safe for people to use. ” Box for Dots
Picture 14 – Rebecca Mc. Nally “I like birds and the graffiti. ” Box for Dots “This represents Muller Street. it’s quiet and has many pigeons. It looks like a park and it is very secure. Beautiful nature!”
Picture 15 – Bianca Fizzotti Q: Which photos would you say represent Muller street as it is? A: The church. It is there. It’s been there [a long time]. It is the backbone. If you look at the other streets, amachurches ama new churches. This is an original. Q: Do you go there? A: No, I don’t. Box for Dots
Picture 16 – Michael Flanagan “It is beautiful. The pavement is beautiful, the roof is fine, it is safe. The trees are cut up nicely. The wall is nice, the gate is safe. ” “It is clean, proper. It is beautiful. The gate is always closed. The people don’t come in - they are walking in the road, they are not near the boundary. ” “There is also a shadow. If it is hot, you can sit under the tree – no-one can control that tree because it is outside”. Box for Dots
Picture 17 – Bianca Fizzotti “This is what the street should look like: nice and clean and neat, with no garbage”. “I like the view, because in some of the streets they are cutting the trees. They should stop cutting the trees. They are the ones telling kids to plant trees, but they are the ones cutting them down. ” “I like the way it captures the street. “ Box for Dots
Picture 18 – Michael Flanagan “This is a place that I know – there’s this burglar-proofing, so you can’t get in. I know someone who lives in this building, they’ve never had any problems. It’s somewhere I would like to stay. ” “It is nice. It’s beautiful. It has beautiful flowers – it’s the best picture I can choose” Box for Dots
Picture 19 – Shanna Miles “I don’t like number 19, with the dustbins. I don’t know if it is people being careless or if there are not enough dustbins. They put these plastics in the street at any time. They must know when the municipality car, will come and pick them. ” “Sometimes those bags are there for 2 -3 weeks. It causes rats, flies, sickness in the young people and it pollutes our air. ” Box for Dots
Picture 20 – Jarred Pincus “I like the long fence. ” “It is representative. It shows that we have beautiful women around here. ” Box for Dots
Picture 21 – Rebecca Mc. Nally “I like this one because it shows women and children feel safe enough to walk the streets. They can enjoy life. ” “Yes [as women] we feel safe and anyway I am an old woman and who would rape me? ” Box for Dots
Picture 22 – Jarred Pincus No comment from community Box for Dots
Picture 23 – Rebecca Mc. Nally “I like it. It is safe and clean. I feel good when I look at it. The boy is playing, or maybe he is just watching. It is peaceful. ” “There is a passage here and dirty water and sewage is running into the streets – and we have small kids there. It could spread diseases. This is the back of the building”. Box for Dots
Picture 24 – James Norwood-Young “I like this picture. I feel, that the way the child is standing. Maybe he is thinking about future. He is thinking of getting his own call, his own objectives in life. Yeah, maybe he is thinking about his life. ” A: He seems lost, out of place. If he is sad he should be at home, or in the yard, with his mother. Q: But what if he needs to be on his own? What if he argued with his mother? A: I suppose, yes. Boys are like that Box for Dots
Picture 25 – Shanna Miles No comment from community Box for Dots
Picture 26 – Jarred Pincus Box for Dots No comment from community
Picture 27 - Megan Sharland “This should not be allowed. It means that the by-laws are not working at all. ” Box for Dots
Picture 28 – Megan Sharland “Someone is cleaning, collecting waste material, doing something about cleanliness motivated by survival, he’s doing something”. “They don’t wait for the government to come and give them money, they are self-employed. ” Box for Dots
Picture 29 – Shanna Miles “That person is selling to make money. He is always busy, he can’t think about crime. They create their own job. “ “There is an initiative to create a living. It is a good attitude that Muller Street should be proud of, even as compared to other streets, instead of going on strike for government to give us more. ” Box for Dots
Picture 30 – Mwezi Mcingwane “They are asking for food. It shows that there are some people suffering. Even once, he came to our place asking for food, this guy. I gave him some. ” “I feel scared when I pass through there, they might rob you. They are hungry and hunger can push you. ” ”This picture does not represent us nicely. It shows we are not able to take care of our own. ” Box for Dots
Picture 31 - Shanna Miles “He will take anything you give him and as a result he sells rubbish, and you can’t tell what it is, is it scrap? ” Box for Dots
Picture 32 – Shanna Miles “The lady with a table with sweets and snacks: I don’t think it is not good because it is not a market here. It is poverty, she has to sell, she is not working or her children are not working. ” Box for Dots
Picture 33 – James Norwood-Young “Number 33 -35, the tuck shops. You can’t change that. That represents Yeoville. They are almost in the whole of Yeoville. It is everywhere”. Box for Dots
Picture 34 – Yoana Hristova “I am proud that this woman has taken the initiative to do something and has found a space to sell something. ” C 1: I think this woman represents Yeoville. C 2: She should stay at home. Do you think she should work in the street? She is too old. C 1: But it is better than those loiterers. C 3: But she is not that old, she is maybe in her 60 s. She is there almost every day. Box for Dots
Picture 35 – Yoana Hristova “Those people cater for us when we can’t go to Shoprite. They take care of us. ” “This represents Yeoville. It is a small tuck shop; it is better than selling in the street. It’s clean, it is organized. If someone buys something on the street they’ll leave the papers there. Yes, this tuck shop represents Yeoville. ” Box for Dots
Picture 36 – Mwezi Mcingwane “We’ve got a place we can call beautiful in our street. It’s the first parking space in Muller Street, so it’s in good condition. It creates jobs for people. So it deserves to represent Muller Street. ” Box for Dots
Picture 37 – Rebecca Mc. Nally I like this one as it shows the owner always renovates his house and keeps it nice and clean, and rebuilds the wall. I don’t like this one, because it’s moving away from being a house to being a spaza shop. Meaning it [Muller Street] is no longer going to be a residential area. Box for Dots
Picture 38 – Rebecca Mc. Nally “I hate this thing for abortion. With our kids growing up, they see this and the next thing they are going to have abortions. It’s so cheap you know. They can die. ” “It is like you do whatever you want because you can just abort the child. ” “It is against my church. It is a sin. ” ”How many young children do you see in this street? It’s a lot of young girls having children. Abortion avoids over-population as well. ” Box for Dots
Picture 39 – Megan Sharland “Those people they are lazy. They are too lazy to work, they are just relaxing – yeah, they are just relaxing. They must go and look for a job. They are just waiting there “. ”They are tsotsis, but it also shows how little unemployment there is. ” “You can see how they are standing – they are thinking about how to catch a victim. ” Box for Dots
Picture 40 – Michael Flanagan Unemployment is high in the area. It shows how the youth has no jobs and they have nothing to do but just wander the streets. Box for Dots
Picture 41 – Mwezi Mcingwane “I don’t drink at all. I used to drink too much but now I’ve stopped. I know what it does to you. ” “I myself I drink but not too much. There is nothing wrong with alcohol, it is up to the person. If you are bored at least you can keep yourself busy. Of course, if you don’t even have money to buy food for the family, you need to think about if you want to spend your money on drinks…” Box for Dots
Picture 42 – Bianca Fizzotti “This is my building, I have been staying here for almost ten years. I like the flat, this building…but it’s very dirty. It’s a problem because the owner doesn’t want to renovate it. ” “It has never been painted. The owner lives outside Yeoville. He overcharges for services. We pay a lot of money but the flat is very dirty. Before the World Cup plenty of places were renovated, but not our building. ” Box for Dots
Picture 43 – Michael Flanagan “The kids should be in school. The guy in the white shirt is smoking. The one with the hat is not a school child. Maybe he is selling drugs – maybe he is selling drugs to the kids. ” “Students are just loitering. The reason they’re in the street is because there is no space in the school” Box for Dots
Picture 44 – Michael Flanagan “The crèche shows a place of love and happiness and that the bars are there to protect the kids. ” ”The crèche is helping a lot of women. But this does not encourage women to take on their responsibilities and raise their own children. ” “This is not a proper crèche, they might be secure but this is not designed to be a crèche. ” Box for Dots
Picture 45 – Bianca Fizzotti “The children are happy. The children can play in the street – they are safe. ” “If I am a parent and I see my boy playing soccer here [in the street] while cars, are speeding like nobody’s business, what impression are you giving? It is like you are saying ‘go to the parlour, my child, I am giving you away’!” Box for Dots
Picture 46 – Megan Sharland The boys greet me. They open the gate for me, they are very polite. This shows that there is a community. The car is safe, the street is safe. Cars parked on the pavement? It is lawlessness. Once he falls it is difficult to get up because of the rollerblades. He will need to find the time to move when the cars are coming. The kids should not be playing like this. Box for Dots
Picture 47 - Jarred Pincus “Skating on the road - this is not good because cars come past here and something could happen. ” “Some places have big parks where kids could skate – parents should take their kids there to play. Kids always like to play near their homes. In Yeoville the space is there but it’s not nice, so kids don’t use it. Even for grownups, being outside can refresh your mind, and you see new people. ” Box for Dots
Picture 48 – Shanna Miles “I like this picture. The child is free. ” “This corner is a very busy intersection because the taxis use it now. They do not care who is coming, they just want to claim the customers. They drive the way they like and it is not safe. Opposite here is the church. Imagine if there a lot of people going out [of the church]. ” Box for Dots
- Slides: 49