It may be a better idea, at first, to ignore the title of this impressive photographic collaboration and indulge in the theatrical verve of its result: splendidly grand tableaux that steals the gaze and tickles the mind.

Cunningly conceived, well staged and executed, and photographed and printed with high-professional skill, the exotic, sometimes slightly surreal and campy humorous visual essay Who am I? is a must see for all those reasons.

It is only when the paradoxes kick in that the fun and games of this merry-go-round become, literally, a matter of life and death. It’s when the subtext starts pushing to the surface, that the power of this project grabs you. It’s then when, as a viewer, you cannot remain the unaffected, amused, perplexed bystander. Take irony as a key to unlock the complexities of human existence.

The diminutive Leon Botha is a remarkably long-living progeria sufferer. The disease, named from the Greek for quick aging (of the human body), has altered his physical appearance in such a way that he can never be incognito in public. It’s a tough reality, but as an artist (he also paints) he confronts this head-on in this series of highly-constructed images. The strategy is a complete conversion of his reality to that of a play-actor. This, ironically, of course, has often been the case for people of his ilk: they are seen as performers and amusers for being so unusual looking.

Working with photographer Clark, who, clearly has a fine sense of what is required to catch viewer attention (vital in the competitive and high-buzz world of fashion and advertising photography). Create drama where and when the viewer doesn’t expect it, and invent topsy-turvy visual constructs (in the style of Helmut Newton, for one) that shock and unsettle.

Printed to large format - which enhances sharply-focused detail and effect, with saturated colours teasing reality - these photographs rely on Botha’s discordant presence in stylised surroundings. In some he is dressed up, in others made-up. The best and most potent pictures are those in which this is not done.

In ‘Man’ he is simply a curious figure and shadow against the beach lavatory sign and a single seabird. The juxtaposing is delicious. In ‘Facts and Fallacies’ with the oversize egg lamp, the humour is sharp and dense, and a quiet melancholy permeates ‘Away from the World’ and it becomes Shakespearian in ‘Sitting on the Edge’.

Unlike the awkward, somewhat clichéd exhibition title, most of the pictures are shrewdly captioned. The gorgeously satirical ‘Home Maintenance’ is too clever for words.

It is in images like these, so striking in constructed visual narrative, that one returns, on contemplation, to the real life of the progeria-suffering artist and the questions around role-playing that he has to face all the time. With the illness’s deadly demands on human time, this collection of photographs is a vivid stop-and-think event. It’s also brilliant.

*The João Ferreira Gallery is at 70 Loop Street. Tel 021-4235403

Image: Who am I A.



This Review was first published in The Cape Times, January. With thanks.