Dorps: The Small Towns of South Africa

Dorps, The small towns of South Africa is about a part of ‘Old Africa’ that is quickly disappearing. From 1982 to 1986, Roger Ballen, an American, travelled widely throughout South Africa, visiting its scattered towns and villages. During this time he developed a unique vision towards little-known corners and artifacts, trading stores, old houses and humble people. Textured with time, these photographs reveal the essence of these places. This is a revised second edition of Roger Ballen’s powerful photographic journey containing new unpublished images never seen before. Roger says he has tried to depict what he believes to be a disappearing South African aesthetic. With each year, the anonymity of the present further transforms the character of these places. In many ways I feel as if I have recorded the elements of a dying culture. I photographed these towns in the hope of freezing time and arresting the utter extinction of the South African dorp.