Re-imagining Sharpeville is a visual investigation of contemporary Sharpeville. Seeking to explore themes and subjects that are overshadowed by historic Sharpeville, Re-imagining Sharpeville examines the “township” with a fresh vibrancy and creativity, without losing the integrity of its historical significance. Combined with traces of childhood memories, Gumbi, documents Sharpeville’s ordinary happenings and every day life activities to present one possible reality of life in a South African community. This body of work challenges mainstream prespective of this controversial space and calls for re-thinking, re-visioning, and re-imagining of Sharpeville.

Following the historic signing of the new constitution by Nelson Mandela in Sharpville in 1996, South Africa has experienced rapid changes. The collapse of oppressive socio-political structures created space for new possibilities in all walks of life. The era of struggle photography declined with the demise of apartheid, creating new opportunities for artists and photographers to explore themes and subjects that were previously overshadowed. I grew up in Sharpeville unaware that it had a politically significant history. It was only in my late teens that I was exposed to books which had sections dedicated to the Sharpeville massacre. The image on the front cover of a book titled An Ordinary Atrocity: Sharpeville and Its Massacre by Philip Frankel haunted me for a very long time. After several readings I noticed a lack of contemporary visual material about Sharpeville. I took it upon myself to visually document Sharpeville as I know it. For the past few years I have dedicated my photography practice to this course. My vision is to produce a set of photographs that depicts the social landscape of Sharpeville; re-imaging this township with a fresh contemporary vibrancy and creativity, without losing the integrity of its historical significance. I have shifted my focus away from the well documented historical aspects of Sharpeville towards the personal and ordinary. I have filled some of my frames with traces of my childhood memories. The reality was at times too hard to witness, but I also had inspiring experiences. The every day life challenges and activities that are reflected in my images are a common characteristic of the present realities of life in South African townships. In the process of producing this body of work; I think that I was able to rethink the mainstream portrayal of township life and as a result I have developed a new visual language for myself. I have shaped this project in an unstructured and spontaneous manner – walking through the streets and photographing various aspects of my experience. In the process of walking the streets, I have become more aware as well as more engaged with my community. I initially found it to be a challenge to interact with strangers in such an intimate manner; however over time I began to feel more comfortable with the process. I have found that within the ordinary I can discover the extraordinary.

Tsepo Gumbi was born in Sharpeville in 1982. In 2010, Gumbi enrolled to study photography fulltime at the Market Photo Workshop where he successfully completed the Foundation and Intermediate photography courses. Gumbi works as the Coordinator for the Photojournalism and Documentary Programme at the Market Photo Workshop.