A City Refracted

Johannesburg’s inner city has, since the mining town’s formation, served as the first stop for new arrivals. As such it has always been vibrant and in a constant state of flux. Grame Williams initially started photographing the area in the nineties when racial segregation laws were being lifted and black South Africans had begun moving from the outlying townships to the city. During the past two decades, simultaneous to white people vacating the inner city, increasingly the area has become home to new immigrants from all over Africa. The city’s increasing social polarizations have resulted in him being an outsider in a neighborhood that is less than 10 minutes’ drive from his home. This has allowed Williams to transform his engagement with the subject from the viewpoint of the local to that of the foreigner. This body of work, A City Refracted, echoes his altered vision – both photographically as well as in his view of the country’s future.