Brixton Monuments:

This is the first lino cut in the series and how it all came about. It was used to raise money for re-painting the small corrugated iron worker’s cottage cum corner shop on Fulham and Wimbledon Road.

The cottage is one of few national monuments that represents Johannesburg’s working class from the early days of the gold rush. Although Brixton was a white suburb under Apartheid, today it houses a mix of races and income groups. 

The recycler in the foreground is a common figure in many Johannesburg neighbourhoods and the TV tower in the background is visible from almost anywhere in the city.

This building used to be a small convenience store run by a Chinese lady called Pi. When she retired, the building became an artist studio called SHADE, where Tamzyn Botha collects materials from local recyclers to be re-used.

The figure in the foreground is Percy, one of the founders of the Sentech Croozers, a group of boys who build custom bikes.

The taxi speeds down Caroline Street towards downtown. Rumour has it that the Apartheid government envisioned Caroline Street as an escape route should the city centre erupt in unrest.

The stone steps provide pedestrian path up the Brixton ridge and are a rare pre-democracy concession to the workers who serviced the white suburbs of Johannesburg.

Early in the mornings and evenings the steps are busy with people walking to and from work or exercising.

The other day I was running up and down the Brixton steps when a man dressed in construction overalls flew past me, jumping over multiple steps at a time.

This is a view into one of the service lanes in Brixton which were used to collect human waste before Johannesburg had a waterborne sewerage system. The ‘night soil’ was collected in buckets from outhouses accessed via the alley and transported away in donkey carts.

Today the alleys are raw and somewhat wild spaces where vegetation grows unchecked and people have constructed walls and gates using recycled or unfinished materials.

The alleys give access to cottages and backyards rooms. They have an intimate scale and seem to lie dormant, waiting to come alive with kids’ games, small shops, even bars.

The creature in the foreground is a Parktown Prawn, a terrifying invader of Johannesburg homes.

This scene captures a moment of the Brixton Light Festival held in September 2023.

The large model ships were made by David Gara and were worn as headgear in a performance put on by the Well-Worn Theatre Company. For days before the festival people rehearsed moving like ships rolling on high seas.

The lines on the road mark the watershed that runs all the way up the African continent from where water makes its way either into the Indian Ocean or the Atlantic. 

In the background is the Brixton Tower lit up with moving patterns projected from someone’s backyard. 

The glowing Ibis (Hadeda) was made, carried and operated by Alistair Findlay at the head of the festival parade.

This is our backyard with our cat, named Brixton. I made this lino cut on the day she died.

My office is in the house with the round window. I walk to work every day, exercise in the park or at the steps. I walk to the shops and to friends’ houses.

Brixton properties are small and the houses sit close to the street and many house have porches. The tightness and walkability of Brixton seems to encourage people to socialise in the street and to get to know each other.

This is my art teacher, Bronwen Finlay’s courtyard. The house is in the foreground and the studio is behind the viewer.

Despite the small properties many houses in Brixton have cottages and workshops in their backyards. Bronwen’s courtyard is a small paradise filled with mosaics catching light, birds building nests, and her cat Tinks.

These little outbuildings add another, layer to the neighbourhood that contributes to its artistic and diverse character.

On 2 September 2023 Brixton was transformed into a magic carpet ride during the Light Festival.

This is one of the scenes encountered in front of the NG Kerk where a Zulu punk band performed to 100’s of people.

The figures in the sky are from the performers next door who danced on top of a garage roof wearing black tights with glow sticks attached to them.