GRAAFF-REINET NEWS — Elize Strydom is an Australian photographer/radio journalist who has embarked on a documentary photography project exploring the daily life of teenage girls in small towns across Australia, the United States and South Africa.
In February 2016, Strydom found herself in the Graaff-Reinet district. Here she lived with, interviewed, photographed and got to know two of this town’s ‘small town girls’ - Lizandri and Rebecca. The photographs, sound bites and writings that she had gathered over these three countries culminated in an exhibition in Sydney, Australia late last year. In a follow up exercise, Elize Strydom returned to the Karoo this week where she caught up with her young subjects.
On arrival back in the Karoo, Strydom Instagrammed: “Back in the high altitude, semi desert Karoo in South Africa’s Eastern Cape... and I couldn’t be happier. These people, this place... I feel like I’ve come home!”
As Strydom photographs the lives of small town girls, she writes about her interactions with them:
“15-year-old Lizandri relaxes with friends between races at her school swimming gala. It struck me today just how many hopes adults (myself included) pin to teenagers. Young people signify a fresh start and seem full of endless promise.”
“Lizandri goes to an Afrikaans school so I was the odd one out. I’ve experienced quite a bit here in SA and while at times it’s uncomfortable and awkward, I think it’s important to know how it feels to be ‘the other’ and to make an effort to find common ground.”
“14-year-old Rebecca tries to catch a crab with a piece of meat tied to a string (she caught two!) while her younger brother explores the creek bed nearby. Rebecca goes to boarding school during the week and relishes weekends spent at home in her tiny village. Rebecca says, ‘When I am here there’s time and space to just sit down and breathe. I can get on my bike and go wherever and explore. I’m glad I’ve grown up here. I’ll have the opportunity to live in the city when I’m older.’ “
Strydom comments, “I am interested in perception of space and the role the natural environment plays in both the lifestyle and wellbeing of each small town girl. Is she more likely to think about her place in the world if she regularly stands on the edge of a cliff and gazes across the seemingly endless Karoo?”
From Graaff-Reinet, Strydom heads west to the small town of Eendekuil to visit one of her subjects there. From there she will travel to Zimbabwe to work with World Vision in a project documenting Zimbabwean girls. More of the evocative photographs that capture the lives of small town girls across the world can be seen on elizestrydom.co, or on Instagram as smalltowngirlproject.
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