Casting Shadows: Images from a New South Africa

South Africa is in the midst of dramatic transformation. For its communities of color - long cast in the role of shadow to the white population - this is a time when identities and borders are in the process of redefinition. In this body of photographic work, Edward West uses the metaphorical power of shadow to foreground the shifting visibility of South Africa's black population post apartheid.In focusing on the private moments of these newly empowered people within their own communities, West has created a complex, visually compelling study of the ways in which identity is inextricable linked to environment. With the authenticity of full frame street photography, the images reveal moments in which the gesture - of people, place and shadow - becomes an essential way of knowing.This work bears testimony that there is much to be found in the shadow - if we are willing to enter the darkness.