Man staat met rood spiderman masker midden op een weg. Rechts in de achtergrond is hek zichtbaar dat volhangt met afval.

Mikhael Subotzky, 2006

Samuel (standing), Vaalkoppies (Beaufort West Rubbish Dump), 2006

Created by Mikhael Subotzky in 2006. The artwork is a light jet c-print on Fuji Chrystal Archive paper and displayed at 104 x 120 cm.

A surreal looking fence, filled with rubbish, stretches into the distance. In the desolate landscape, a figure wearing a spiderman mask stands tall. This is Samuel, garbage picker, in Beaufort West Rubbish Dump, South Africa. The apparent playfulness of an adult with a superhero mask is overshadowed by the heavily littered surroundings. In his documentary project, Beaufort West, Subotzky narrates the story of a community that is still grappling with the aftermath of apartheid, and seemingly overlooked as hundreds of cars pass by every day on their way to Cape Town or Johannesburg. To gain a sense of how it feels to live in a place like Beaufort West, Subotzky immersed himself in its community for several months.

© Mikhael Subotzky, courtesy of the Foam Collection

thumbnail Samuel (standing), Vaalkoppies (Beaufort West Rubbish Dump), 2006

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Samuel (standing), Vaalkoppies (Beaufort West Rubbish Dump), 2006