Title:Children of Africa Portrait SeriesDescription:The Kaapse Klopse (or simply Klopse), formerly known as the Coon Carnival and officially called Cape Town Minstrel Carnival, is a Cape coloured minstrel festival that takes place annually on 2 January in Cape Town, South Africa. It is also referred to as Tweede Nuwe jaar (Second New Year). As many as 13,000 minstrels take to the streets garbed in bright colours, either carrying colourful umbrellas or playing an array of musical instruments. The minstrels are self-organised into klopse ("clubs" in Kaapse Afrikaans, but more accurately translated as troupes in English). The custom has been preserved since the mid-19th century. People consider the festival a rite of renewal that has been shaped by the Cape's history.
A boy clutching an apple on parade in Adderley Street, Cape Town where approximately 100,000 people gathered to watch the switching on of the FIFA World Cup-themed Christmas lights in Cape Town.
Looking back I have often wondered what it was that made such a strong impression on me the first time I visited Africa as a tourist at the age of 17. Without a doubt the single most powerful memory is that of African children. Radiating and beaming with smiles and energy and shouting out the universal greeting of 'How are You?!' in an almost chant-like manner. I felt an emerging passion that would see me re-visit the Continent again and again in my work until eventually moving first to Kenya and now to South Africa. Little did I know back then that over a decade later I would of had the honour to work so closely with them, with a variety of high-profile charities and NGO's. This is a small cross-section of that work and a tribute to their courage and to their blissful happiness often in the face of such harsh adversity.
I have been careful with each picture not to appeal to a sense of pity towards the subjects, something which of course has been overdone and meets these days with an unreceptive audience. I have tried to make the series visually informative about the environment of each child and dynamic and colour-rich. There is also a subtle element of the surreal which in my opinion helps to highlight the unbelievable energy and happiness in the face of hardship which many in the modern Western world find hard to comprehend. I hope to bring a smile to the viewers face but at the same time always convey in each portrait a sense of the compassionate.
City:Cape TownCountry:South AfricaDate Created:29-11-2009Creator:George PhilipasCredit Notice:George Philipas / african.picturesPixel Dimensions X:5100Pixel Dimensions Y:3400Keywords:
Rights usage terms:Restrictions: This image does NOT have all model and property releases. Additional clearance may be required for non-editorial use and for use in association with socially sensitive subject matter
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