Life Under Democracy

Photos and Words by Dale Yudelman

“The Essence Of Political Freedom as It Manifests Itself in the Lives of South Africans”

On the 27th of april 1994, with decades of oppression and discrimination to counter -the idea of a united, democratic society seemed nothing more than a lofty ideological idea, hanging by a thread attached to a voice that many of us had hardly ever heard in this country - that of Nelson Mandela.

As a documentary photographer during and post the apartheid era, I recently undertook a project using Hipstamatic exclusively to capture the essence of political freedom as it manifests itself in the lives of South Africans as we head towards our third decade of freedom. Inspired by the work of Ernest Cole who documented life under apartheid - this series looks at ‘Life under Democracy’.

The project began in 2011 and consists of vibrant daily reflections; shot in passing, with the simple motivation of noticing what is. In the course of bearing testament to the lives of fellow South Africans - people, events and objects became contemplative essays - manifestations on how the issues making front page news permeate and become reality. The intention with this series was not to be compulsively thematic, or to make overly dramatic social statements. The aim is to deliver an account accurate and vivid as any documentary anthology of contemporary life and the way in which ordinary citizens experience their current social and political circumstances.