2017

BOLO. It is an exploration of my childhood neighbourhood from the perspective of an insider, a glimpse over the walls and into the lives of the residents that live in the corner of this old middle-class suburb. My goal for the work was to observe the individuals who also call this place home, and expose their realities, fears, ideals and physical spaces.

The text for the work is drawn from the whatsapp group that the community uses to keep in touch. It is an interesting space that blurs the line between between public and private communication and allows everyone a place to voice their concerns, their thoughts and their spam. The use of this text gives context to the images and the individuals simultaneously, it is also where I drew my title from; BOLO is code for Be-On-the-Look-Out which is used when people mention suspicious activity or individuals in the area. Security and crime are a major concern for the community and the topic appears often in conversation on the group chat. So much so that a patrol has been set up which consists of two different individuals doing a few hours of patrolling every night to stave of crime. This initiative has reduced crime in the area by roughly 90% since its inception and, ironically, has brought the community together.

The project is displayed as a 48 page, A2 Photozine.