South African photographer Marc Shoul was awarded the first prize in the Winephoto 2011 photography competition in Venice, Italy, earlier this month.
Shoul’s Brakpan (work-in-progress) series of black and white photographs is what captured the attention of the judges, amongst more than 500 entries.
Brakpan portrays daily life in the once-prosperou mining town of Brakpan, on Gauteng’s East Rand. Shoul explains: “Brakpan is like going back in time; so many aspects of the town remind me of old images I have seen of South Africa. Despite all the changes in nearby Johannesburg, Brakpan still goes about its business in much the same way it did before. “