Bicycle Portraits is a photographic study of South Africans who rely on their bicycles every day, revealing who rides, why they ride, and of course why so few South Africans choose the bicycle as a primary mode of transport.
By Stan Engelbrecht and Nic Grobler
SALMON MOJAKI Campbell, Northern Cape, South Africa
'SOHLALA SIPHILA' (Staying Alive) by African Noise Foundation
BONGANI NCALA Phumelela, Free State, South Africa
SINA MABETA Hlohlolwane, Clocolan, Free State, South Africa
Each of the 3 Bicycle Portraits books contain 54 different characters, selected out of the over 500 people that were photographed for the project. The books are designed by Gabrielle Guy, and feature original watercolor map-paintings for each character by celebrated watercolorist Gabrielle Raaff. The books also contain 2 different essays each, and all share a third essay with further information about the project.
The BLUE book features essays by Nobel Prize laureate JM Coetzee and Cape Town based writer, journalist and commuter, Sean O’Toole.
The YELLOW book contains pieces by the godfather of mountain biking, Gary Fisher, and the bicycle-obsessed President of Tumi’s Cycling Club, Tumisang Taabe, from Lesotho.
The GREEN book contains writing by Leonard Stanford, a totally unknown corner-café and bicycle-repair-shop owner from Kimberly, and Cape Town based artist and professional commuter, Paul Edmunds.
Available here: www.bicycleportraits.co.za