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Beaufort West by Mikhael Subotzky
At the halfway point along South Africa's great highway-the N1, running from Cape Town to Johannesburg-lies the small town of Beaufort West. With a prison in the middle of town on an island in the highway, it's a surreal road stop that offers everything a traveler might want: food, gas, a place to stay, an hour of sex. Its vivid characters and poignant social landscapes are the subject of Mikhael Subotzky's first photobook. Exquisitely designed and produced on a large portfolio scale, Beaufort West features thirty-six plates and an introduction by leading South African writer Jonny Steinberg. The book is both an important social document and the visual manifesto of the best of the new wave of South African art photographers. In describing his Beaufort West series, Subotzky says: "Despite being originally established to bring law and order to the central Karoo, Beaufort West is now a transit town. Situated at the intersection of two of the busiest national roadways, it serves as a food and overnight stop for travelers of all kinds. Every day, the town's population doubles with those who pass through it. Beaufort West has recently been described by the South African Human Rights Commission as 'an isolated town that has not broken away from the shackles of South Africa's apartheid past, [where] economic and social integration is severely limited.' " Subotzky continues: "I was drawn to Beaufort West when I came across its prison. It is bizarrely situated in a traffic circle in the centre of the town in the middle of the N1 highway. Most South African prisons are hidden from view on the outskirts of our towns and cities. I was interested in this image of the prison at the centre of the town and the irony that it is still hidden as most of those who drive around the traffic circle don't realize that they are passing the prison. This image thus became a locus by which to explore the town and its margins." Beaufort West is exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York until January 5, 2009. For more information visit the MOMA website. Links
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Reader comments (6)
Mikhael has done a brilliant job on showing the quirkyness that is the Karoo and the small towns that are scattered around the place.
My only bug is that his exhibitions are often shown outside of South Africa, which is a great loss for us South Africans.
Comment posted by Daniel on September 20, 2008
How many more photos of inmates, on top of the hundred thousand or so already photographed in the past continue to make for interesting photography?
Comment posted by peter on September 22, 2008
..what I find interesting about Subotzky's prison work is that he manages to bring new life to a subject that has been done so many times before, one's initial fears of 'oh no not another prison story' are soon layed to rest, but the beaufort west story is not just about prisons, there's plenty being said about life in the town too....
Comment posted by polo on September 23, 2008
Really powerful images. Great job as usual.
A new classic in color reportage pictures.
Comment posted by Vittore Fotografo on September 28, 2008
interesting Photo
Comment posted by mirc on October 7, 2008
Although Beaufort West is regarded as a "night stop-over" by many an infrequent traveler, it is factually wrong to cite it as the "halfway point" between Johannesburg and Cape Town. The halfway point between Johannesburg and Cape Town is a desolate little town of Hanover. It is 714 km in either direction of the two main centers. Hanover has now been reduced to a fraction of what Beaufort West has to offer. A major truck stop for North/South road traffic and the change over point of all overnight bus services between Johannesburg and the southern regions of South Africa. It's socio-economic problems is more pronounced than most other little towns on the roads between economic hubs of the country. It's visible divide between built and shanty structures, bear the stark resemblance of the previous political era of South Africa. Hanover is traveled through in less than 90 seconds, yet bear a wealth of visual information to anybody having the interest to follow it up.
Comment posted by Matt in Cape Town on October 21, 2008