Joburg Hawkers

Joburg Hawkers - Street Vendors in Johannesburg
Netherlands / 2020 / Solo exhibition / Zuid-Afrikahuis Amsterdam

From March 5 till August 20, 2020 the exhibition spaces of Zuid-Afrikahuis in Amsterdam were dedicated to street sales - "hawking" - in Johannesburg. Dutch artist Su Tomesen spent two extended periods of time in South Africa’s largest city, in 2010 and 2017, where she observed and interacted with people who on a daily base claim a piece of street or sidewalk where they offer their services, food or drinks, or sell goods.

In the front room Tomesen shows a dozen of photographs, two short videos and found objects: a tower of stacked boxes of whitening cream; a collection of women’s shoes on a blue tarpaulin; a saleswoman filling small bags of popcorn ("kipkip") with her stock from a large bag; a street barber (the video Barbershop); a tree feller waiting for work (the video Tree Feller) – all examples of Joburg hawkers and the great variety of things people offer.

In the room in the back of Zuid-Afrikahuis the film Street is exhibited.
The video shows in 30 minutes, without dialogue or voice-over, a colourful range of vendors in the streets of Johannesburg trying to make a living. One hawker sells toothbrushes in the Central Business District yelling "2 for 5 rand, 5 rand for 2!";  in Joubert Park a few men stand with cameras and portable printers and offer passers-by, a "same time photo", an instant photo of themselves; shopping trolleys from supermarkets are frequently used to transport merchandise. Street is part of the four-channel installation Street Vendors (2018) in which Tomesen focuses on the resourcefulness and perseverance of street sellers on four continents.

About the show Joburg Hawkers, article in Dutch: Kunstenaar Su Tomesen: "Straatverkopers weten van niets iets te maken" by Ingrid Glorie in Voertaal
Announcement of the exhibition: Joburg hawkers - Straatverkopers in Johannesburg