Ruth First Fellowship winner and photographer Alon Skuy explains how he interpreted the theme of this year’s Ruth First lecture: politics and economics of energy in South Africa.
“I went in search of unusual and challenging living spaces with people who use means other than electricity to survive. A homeless man I was interviewing directed me to a bridge, walked me up the embankment and whistled into the air with his head arched towards a hole in the underside of the bridge.
“A few seconds later, faces emerged looking downwards at us through the hole. Then an outstretched arm appeared and the man indicated that he wanted to lift me up through the opening leading into the hollow bridge. Once my eyes had adjusted to the dark inside, a fascinating spectacle greeted me.
An empty concrete space had been transformed into a place where people had made their homes. I saw a kitchen table covered with sauces and spices used for cooking, deckchairs and curtained partitions to create separate sleeping quarters.”