Coffee table South Africa: “Shack Chic", an interesting and controversial look at poverty, townships, dignity and creativity in South Africa

Last Sunday after church I was at the house of some church friends and I came across a a book which immediately rubbed me the wrong way and I was a bit offended that someone was making money (again) by exploiting poor South Africans and their modest living situations. But as I got past the cover and start to realize that this wasn’t just a book full of images but a collection of images mixed together with quotes, poems, stories, social commentary and seemed to have been the culmination of time, energy and research. The more I went through it the more I thought that it could either be a coffee table book for people who have never lived in or visit such situations to have out to share with their friends or a way to raise the consciousness of South Africans and others who have no real concept of how a growing population of South Africans are living. It also seemed to bring a sense of pride and dignity to people living in situations that many would find to be shocking or unacceptable. From the pages came the strong sense of community, creativity, camaraderie and resourcefulness and more that the people and places highlighted in this book possess and represent for many South Africans not shown or mentioned.

The book is called Shack Chic and if you go to Quivertree Publications you can see some of the intriguing and intrusive images that it contains. As a photographer, traveler, social justice advocate and student I went through many emotions while seeing the photographs and reading the word contained within this book and really need to look at it again to see it again with “fresh” eyes. When I got home on Sunday I went right to the internet to find out more about this book and found an interesting article from August of 2002 at BBC.com. If you go to Africa Book Centre Limited and scroll all the way down you can find the book for sale. Most of you won’t buy it from here as you are not in this part of the world but in an effort to promote photography and writing from Africa I am sharing this site. As I try to promote the “little guys” or at least the “littler” guys if you are in the Pacific NW in the States I found that Powell’s Books (a Portland favorite) has copies of the book as well. A simple search on the net will most likely find a bookstore or library near you with the book.

In my search to know more about “Shack Chic” and what people are saying about it I found an article online by Milia Lorraine Khoury which about a South African photographer, Zwelethu Mthethwa, whose work was unknown to me before finding this story. The article is academic as it was written for an art course at the University of Cape Town. In this article Khoury write an insightful and scathing section on Shack Chic and similar publications. She says, “In publications like Shack Chic…photographing has reverted back to a colonising eye. People are exoticised and ‘othered’ once again, by the scrutiny of the lens. There is an element of spectacle in these images by Fraser, as if these people are expected to entertain, and their living quarters are looked upon and perceived as curious and strange. The hyper-real colour in these images suggests an untrue depiction of reality, with the ‘truth’ element from Mthethwa’s quasi-documentary style erased.” I am very happy to have come upon this article as Khoury seems to have more insight and history into this book and others who have tried similar photography in similar communities.

I have tried to share some of my impressions, allow you to find images and more information online and given you the words of Milia Lorraine Khoury which really seem to put the book in a more appropriate context. My suggestion is to buy or borrow the book and see what you think. I would love to hear from any of you that know this book or find it because of this article. Send me an email or leave a comment below.