Alf Kumalo launches 8115: A Prisoner’s Home

by Tracey on Aug 23rd, 2010

When a man such as Alf Kumalo – an icon of the anti-Apartheid struggle and a photography legend – launches a new book, it is indeed an event to take note of. The launch of his new collection of photographs, 8115, which documents the domestic life of the Mandela family from the 1960s to the 1990s – appropriately held at the Nelson Mandela Square Exclusive Books – was attended by prominent personalities of a dozen different scenes, including the likes of Hugh Masekela. Many in attendance were colleagues who have worked with Kumalo since the 1960s, leading to a fascinating dialogue about the role of the artist as witness to society’s changes.

Kumalo was joined by old friend and colleague, Joe Thloloe – now the Press Ombudsman and head of the National Editors Forum – for a Q&A session on stage. The timing of this decision, in the midst of debates around the proposed media tribunal, was not lost on the audience and lent a serious political overtones to the discussions. “The current proposal of a media tribunal reminds me of another time when stories and photos were suppressed,” Thloloe said.

“This book is mainly about the house on Vilakazi street,” Kumalo said. “The small things. The cake that was made every year on Mandela’s birthday; the celebration that took place without him.” The photographs show the closeness that the family had in the early years – eerie to see now – with intimate shots of Nelson playing with his sons; the family dog; Winnie doing the ironing. These are contrasted with images of those dramatic scenes of history: arrests, political meetings and homecomings that tell the other side of the story.

Some of the stories behind the photographs are as interesting as the images themselves. Kumalo told of how he was able to capture the moment that Winnie Mandela was arrested: “Winnie would let us know if something was going down, so she paged all the journalists to alert us that they were coming to arrest her. But when we got there, we were thrown out by the police because it was still in 1977 and a State of Emergency. So I tried to hollow out a cabbage and put my camera inside it, with a timer – but it didn’t work. I eventually got the shots by hiding in a neighbour’s house. I took the shots through the window, through the dusty glass.”

For a man in his 80s, Kumalo is vigorous and radiates a sense of quiet power. When asked how many books he still thinks he has in him, he responded with a twinkle in his eye: “Many. But it’s all a question of funding… with funding, many of us can do a lot of books.” Most of the photographer’s time now is devoted to passing his skills onto other young photographers as part of a Soweto education project. “I want to make sure that history is always captured,” he said.