Last night I attended an art exhibition called the Postcard Revival on the top floor of the Barbican Building, one of the most iconic buildings in downtown Joburg. I have no time to tell you anything about the exhibition, or the glorious building in which it took place. But I’m making time to show you one photo that I took from the Barbican’s 10th-floor balcony.
Ah, Joburg City. I heart you. (This is the Gauteng Legislature building.) Continue Reading
I went on an amazing walking tour of the Jozi CBD yesterday, led by Gerlad Garner of Joburg Places. I’ll have a lot to say about this tour in a future post. For now, here are a couple of Instagrams.
Wide-angle shot of the Rissik Street Post Office, one of Joburg’s most historic buildings. I wrote more about the Post Office in my recent post on Hannelie Coetzee’s public art walkabout. Continue Reading
When I first moved to Joburg I blogged about everything I did. Going for a walk, shopping for groceries, sitting in the yard watching birds…No activity was too trivial. Everything was bloggable.
Nearly three years later, my blogging habits have changed. I do a lot more exciting things than I used to and I don’t have the time to blog about them all. I also don’t bring my big camera with me everywhere I go anymore, which means I’m at the mercy of my iPhone camera. Sometimes I get good pictures and sometimes I don’t. If I don’t get enough good pictures, I don’t blog. Hence, I pick and choose my bloggable experiences. Continue Reading
I didn't pay much attention to public art when I lived in America. I didn't pay much attention to art in general, actually. I enjoyed the occasional museum visit but that was about it.
Things changed when I moved to Joburg. Art is everywhere here and I suddenly found it impossible to ignore. The closer I looked, the more I began to see and appreciate art in unlikely places.
Art beneath my feet on Commissioner St. in the Jozi CBD. I'll have more to say about these mosaics, created by artist Andrew Lindsay, in a future post.
Emily, a friend of mine from America who is backpacking around the world, visited me in Jozi this weekend. The timing of Emily’s visit was both lucky and unlucky. Unlucky because it rained all weekend. Lucky because this was the funnest Jozi weekend ever, jam-packed with quirky art exhibitions, musical performances, photowalks, and other awesome things.
Herewith is a recap of the Weekend of Jozi Awesomeness, recorded on my iPhone. Continue Reading
After my photo exhibition, I promised to write a post including all of the pics and an in-depth explanation of how I shot them. I kept putting this off — I felt a bit “exhibitioned out”, and also haven’t felt much like blogging lately. But anyway, I’ve decided it’s time to stop procrastinating.
As I explained in my first exhibition post, all of the photos were taken in Jeppestown and Maboneng, an area where I go running sometimes during boxing training. The majority of the photos were taken on two streets — Fox Street, where most of the Maboneng development is, and the adjoining Macintyre Street, one of the main arteries through Jeppestown. Continue Reading
I’m not in the habit of using this blog to plug myself, at least not in an obvious way. I’m also not in the habit of using exclamation points in my post titles. But today I am making exceptions.
Next week, there will be an exhibition of my photos in Melville.
A hint of what’s to come. Continue Reading
Last weekend I went on a “Meet the Artists” tour in Troyeville, led by Ishvara at Ancient Secrets. I’ve been on several of Ishvara’s tours before, including another tour of Troyeville. But the idea of visiting artists’ studios in this wacky part of town appealed to me, so I signed up.
Here’s a quick round-up of what I saw.
Ceramic bowls in progress in Peter Mthombeni’s cavernous Troyeville workshop. Peter sells his work at the Bryanston Organic Market — I met him there a few months ago. Continue Reading
I published my first blog post on 26 June 2010, six weeks before I moved to Joburg. I didn’t have a plan for 2Summers back then. Almost no one read my blog. I didn’t publicize it or put photos in it. I didn’t read other blogs so I had nothing to model mine after. I didn’t even know what my blog would be about. I did know, however, that I was embarking on an extraordinary journey. I figured I should write about it.
And here I am, 28 months, 300 posts, and a few lifetimes later.
I could be profound and write deep, meaningful reflections and ruminations on this milestone. But that would be sort of lame. Instead I will show you a series of photos of my two favorite Johannesburg landmarks: Hillbrow Tower (also known as the Telkom Tower) and Ponte City. Continue Reading
On Saturday I went on an “Instawalk” with a bunch of Joburg Instagram photographers. Their informal leader, @roywrench, invited me to submit my best Jozi Instagram pics for an exhibition being organized as part of the I ART JOBURG project in Maboneng.
I’ve been struggling for weeks to get a good shot of the Maboneng sign on Kruger St. I finally figured out that I needed to shoot it from behind.
Last night, I stood in a rad exhibition space called AREA3, face-to-face with my own Instagram and several dozen other mobile images. Rows and rows of beautiful paper squares, each square telling a unique Jozi story. Continue Reading
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