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This is Where EyeEm From: Johannesburg

By Severin - 6 min read

As South Africa’s most populated city, Johannesburg is a melting pot of cultures, people and energies. How do you capture such a vibrant place in pictures? Michelle Harris gave it a try and presents her hometown in this beautiful & touching portrait..

As South Africa’s most populated city, Johannesburg is a melting pot of cultures, people and energies. How do you capture such a vibrant place in pictures? Michelle Harris gave it a try and presents her hometown in thisbeautiful & touching portrait..

Hanging out in Johannesburg by Michelle Harris on EyeEm

From the desk of Michelle Harris:

I live and work in Johannesburg, South Africa – aka Joburg. This cacophony of a city sometimes fills me with fear and frustration, but then a moment later it will lift my spirit with its vibrancy and energy.

Capturing Joburg’s spirit of diversity was a daunting challenge for me as it was impossible to free my white-born eyes from my privileged upbringing and try tell a story from the perspective of all our inhabitants. Framed in the legacy of Apartheid, there is so much painful and joyous history in our country that has shaped our hearts and minds forever. This is a place where racial resentments cling and social inequalities are stark, but somehow its people shine through with a spirit of joy and friendliness.

My Joburg landscape is dotted with Jacaranda trees and reckless taxis. The sun casts golden light on squalid squatter camps where chickens run the streets and ‘Black diamonds’ (a term used locally to encapsulate the burgeoning black African middle class) show off the latest fashions. The city buzzes with an electric kaleidoscope of colour. Joburg…City of Gold…my home.