vintage gelatin silver print on fibre based paper

Artwork date: 1984
Signature details: inscribed with the title and stamped with the artist's stamp on the reverse
Literature: Examples from the edition were illustrated in:
Goldblatt, D. (2013). ‘The Transported of Kwandebele: A South African Odyssey’, Göttingen: Steidl Publishers, illustrated on p. 44.
Christov-Bakargiev, C. (2003). 'William Kentridge for Castello di Rivoli Museo d'Arte Contemporanea'. Milan: Skira, illustrated on p. 28.;
Goldblatt, D. (2001). ‘David Goldblatt: Fifty – one Years’, ACTAR and Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona: Barcelona, illustrated on p. 287.

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image size: 22.5 x 32.5 cm; sheet size: 27.5 x 35 cm

Provenance:

The collection of the late Paul Alberts.

Exhibitions:

Examples from the edition were exhibited in:

The Walther Collection Museum, Neu-Ulm, ‘Beyond the Binary: Santu Mofokeng and David Goldblatt’, 16 April to 19 November 2023.

Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, ‘On Common Ground: David Goldblatt & Peter Magubane’, 28 July to 25 August 2018.

Standard Bank Gallery, Johannesburg, ‘The Pursuit of Values’, 21 October to 5 December 2015.

The Museum Africa, Johannesburg, ‘David Goldblatt: Fifty – one Years’, 2003.

Iziko South Africa National Gallery, Cape Town, ‘David Goldblatt: Fifty – one Years’, 2003.

Palais des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles, Brussels, ‘David Goldblatt: Fifty – one Years’, June to September 2002.

Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Barcelona, ‘David Goldblatt: Fifty – one Years’, February to May 2002.

AXA Gallery, New York, ‘David Goldblatt: Fifty – one Years’, 15 August to 16 October 2001.

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

The current lot forms part of a photographic essay on homeland transport, commissioned for the Second Carnegie Inquiry into Poverty and Development in South Africa.

Apartheid policy applied after 1948 required that Black South Africans live, segregated in tribal Bantustans or homelands, and millions were forcibly relocated to remote, rural settlement camps. These areas lacked employment opportunities and to sustain themselves people had to find employment in economic hubs in ‘White’ South Africa.

To facilitate the movement of workers between the homelands and economic hubs, heavily subsidised bus and rail links were established. Gaining permission to travel on a bus from KwaNdebele, the homeland of the Ndebele group, to Pretoria, Goldblatt documented a journey which started at 2:50 a.m. for the first passengers. The bus reached the terminus in Pretoria at 5:45 a.m. and from here many passengers would continue their journey onwards to reach work by 7 a.m.

After work, the last bus left Pretoria at 7 p.m., with those living in the furthest camps arriving home between 9 and 10 p.m. – having spent up to 8 hours on their daily commute to and from work.

This photograph, taken at 8.45 p.m. shows commuters nearing the end of their journey. Men rest, sitting silently or sleeping. What is remarkable is that Goldblatt, in memorialising an everyday event – commuters on a bus – has also told a story that may have otherwise been invisible. He captures each individual with compassion and humanity creating a dignified image that documents an important aspect of South Africa’s past.

COLLECTOR'S NOTE

• This photograph was hand-printed by David Goldblatt in his darkroom and forms part of a collection of prints gifted by Goldblatt to fellow photographer Paul Alberts.
• Accompanied by a handwritten note in Goldblatt’s handwriting and on his personal stationery; “To Paul, Sorry I didn’t have time to spot this print, D” - likely referring to a stain on the right of the work.
• An example from the edition forms part of the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA and The Walther Collection, Germany.

The handwritten note from David Goldblatt to Paul Alberts
in reference to LOT 65

COLLECTIONS

The artist is represented in numerous local and international collections, notably, Johannesburg Art Gallery; Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town; Jewish Museum, Cape Town; Art Institute of Chicago; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris; National Museum of Photography, Copenhagen; Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Getty Center, Los Angeles.