Julian RichardsMelville

Why are the streets empty?

These elegant but unsettling images of a well-kept South African suburb suggest that something has gone wrong.

I took these pictures while living in Melville, a suburb of Johannesburg, in 2007 and 2008. At first I thought that Johannesburg might be an ideal city: Mediterranean climate, strong, sharp light, big gardens full of colourful plants, swimming pools, everything neat and tidy. East London cannot compete on these points.

But there was something odd about Melville, a formerly whites-only district: the streets were always empty. No one except the occasional domestic worker walked anywhere. I could see that walls were being built ever higher, backed up by

a proliferation of electric fences, automatic gates, security beams, guard dogs and plaques warning of armed-response units. I came to understand that fear of crime and suspicion of others was deep.

That is why I went out with my camera and tripod – keeping an eye out for muggers – to capture the light, the beauty and the emptiness of the scene.

Another series of photographs – On the Road in KZN – is shown as a slideshow on a video monitor, lulling the viewer into a mechanical countryside contemplation through the shifting perspectives of the long-distance road trip.

Exterior South Africa: Photographs from KZN to Melville

created by Éanna Freeney

www.eannafreeney .com