Langa

Igshaan Adams: “Bonteheuwel is my home. When I was growing up, all I wanted was to get out. It was a depressing place, I felt choked by it. Now I love being there, despite having police vans and convoys constantly driving down the street. […] Bonteheuwel is often discussed in the South African media, but always in terms of death and gangs and as a dangerous place. It’s always been reduced to that. For me, a desire line—as an expedient route from one place to another—is evidence that people are willing to go against what’s been laid out for them, or what the expectation is for their life. This work enacts the landscape of a neighboring township, called Langa, as a fork in the road, created by desire lines, subversive pathways on the ground. It captures an aerial view of the township through the texture of the terrain, with the desire lines crossing the land and connection neighborhoods that would otherwise remain separated and segregated.”