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The
Moving Spirit (Mets and Schilt, Double Storey
2006) a personal spiritual journey.
For the past years Paul Weinberg has been photographing religious
rituals and spiritual practice around his city, Durban and other
parts of the country. These include Christian, Hindu, Jewish,
Islamic faiths, rituals linked to ancestral veneration and the
New Age movement. In some instances, the spiritual practice
is largely traditional, as in the Hindu and African ceremonies.
Weinberg describes the way he went about the project. “My
approach as been to allow the camera to narrate the journey
of spirituality, following a diversity of events and rituals
that in some way reflects The Moving Spirit, running through
my country and southern Africa. This is no attempt to be an
A-Z on religions in the region but rather a personal journey
documenting the spiritual practices that I have chosen to connect
with. Our country in recent years has been through a process
of national healing, if you like, with the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission. Hidden atrocities were brought into the open, to
reveal the truth, to heal, forgive and move on. I, too, with
or without my camera, am part of a country trying to heal. In
this journey I join millions of South Africans continuously
on a pilgrimage beyond politics and platitudes….in search
of the transcendent spirit.” |
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Travelling Light (UKZN Press 2004)
is a photographic book and exhibition reflecting 25 years of
photographer Paul Weinberg’s journey. It is not intended
to be a retrospective but something of the journey he has taken.
He has witnessed the country take a full circle.
The
full circle is a metaphor for living in times of apartheid
to living in times of freedom. Full circle from the city to
the land and all that is between. But the images are a lot
to do with life that fell between the cracks. The full circle
can be translated into the “rainbow nation” or
a social miracle. But the “Rainbow Nation” mythology
is misleading.
In his introduction
he writes, “ Between the cracks, life continues with
its pain and joy. During the “dark days”, apartheid
shadowed me on all these journeys. It was always there consciously
or not. It was in the lines of people’s faces or in
the fascist bravado of military parades. Agricultural shows
and numerous events echoed their presence. But it was the
people I was looking at – watching how they reflected
themselves and how I absorbed their reflections, how they
danced with reality, how they made light in a dark space,
how they embraced each other at great risk. ” |
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An
End to Waiting (IEC), a document of South Africa's
first democratic elections (1994).
Walking with history is a momentous experience. I was privileged
to have been the official IEC photographer for the 1994 elections.
I was on the inside and outside of history. Catching that wave
from both perspectives. There are moments caught on camera and
others that reflect the scene, the time and after all that there
are personal memories that triggered historic and emotional
signals deeply etched and embedded in my consciousness. But
more than that the election, the birth of our democracy gave
us a chance to return to a state of normality. On the night
of the election celebration in Jo’burg, I came across
a person who had trailed me for years as part of the security
police network. “The war is over” I said and gave
him my hand. Nothing more needed to be said as we danced the
night away.
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Back to the Land, (Porcupine
Press 1996) about the return to aboriginal land by displaced
South African communities, text Marlene Winberg.
In 1994, people in South Africa began to return to land in rural
South Africa that they had lost under apartheid. This book chronicles
that process, and other, related, aspects of the South African
government’s reform land reform programme. Life in South
Africa will never be easy and the resettled communities face
a host of economic and environmental problems. But this book
celebrates a precious moment in South Africa’s history
– when the first people stepped back on their land. “Land
is a birthright. The umbilical cord between us and mother earth
tells us where we come from, and where we are belong. When we
die, we return to the earth. This is why land is important.”
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In
Search of the San (Porcupine Press 1997), a book
about the San of Today in Southern Africa.
In Search of the San is a body of work, which explores the lives
of the modern day San. Africa's first people consisting of about
100 000, live in Namibia and Botswana and South Africa. They
are often portrayed as hunter gatherers in a traditional setting,
living in peace and harmony, as they have done for 30 000 years.
Beyond this myth lies the fact that the San have largely been
dispossessed and less than 10 percent of the San have access
to their ancestral lands. They have been subject to continuous
invasion by both black and white settlers and many have been
caught in the crossfire of the civil wars of Angola and Namibia.
This book (and exhibition) sets out to understand the survival
of the San in a modern world. This set of photographs was the
first to present a broader picture beyond the postcard chocolate
box portrayal and attempt to examine the San beyond the myth.
In Search of
the San tells the story of the many scattered communities
who were once hunters and gatherers and are now part herders,
part farmers and often farmworkers. These images journey into
their lives, their struggles, hopes and dreams exploring a
world that has radically changed around them.
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Once
We Were Hunters (published by David Phillip in
South Africa and Mets and Schilt Internationally 2000) is a
book (and travelling exhibition) that journeys to six different
countries in southern and eastern Africa to examine those indigenous
communities who, in spite of a rapidly modernising continent,
are still managing to survive in their natural environment.
Since an estimated 75% of African wildlife lives outside the
recognised game reserves, the preservation of its fauna and
flora has become a community issue. The old-fashioned practice
of creating reserves by removing local people is something of
the past, and new relationships are being explored. But the
emerging ethos of joint management and shared benefits is more
widely heard than practiced. Africa’s precious natural
heritage remains an important asset for the planet, and at the
same time a major source of attraction for global tourism. But
what about the people? Once We Were Hunters addresses these
important issues, and in so doing offers a very different way
of seeing Africa.. We hear authentic voices expressing ancient
value systems and affiliations in our fast-moving world. Written
by African writers, some celebrated and award winning, and with
photographs by Paul Weinberg, this collection of stories and
pictures offers a unique insight into some of the continent’s
most rooted people. |
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Durban,
Impressions of an African City (Porcupine Press
2003), a reflection about his city Durban.
These photographs were taken over a three year period. In part
it is a travel book, in part a document to inform the outside
world of our city. In essence it is my journey of the place
where I live. I traveled the physical and social landscape trying
to understand the culture, people and the city rhythms.
Durban is a meeting point of
many cultures indigenous and indigenised. Zulu, Indian and
European cultures merge into the melting pot. These influences
can be seen in our architecture and dress style of the people.
Our city has a myriad of different social customs and religious
beliefs. We are first and third world wrapped in one. A good
example would be the muthi market located on part of the highway
system the city never completed. Modern and ancient finding
each other. But like many African cities, Durban is in a state
of constant change and shifts.
Durban’s
economy is both first world and informal. We are surrounded
by a continuum of contradictions. It is abuzz with nuance
and levels of unexplored humanity. This collection of work
might seem to represent an end but in many ways it is just
a beginning……
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