Capturing the past through pictures
Hemisha Bhana (23) is using her artistic gift to help capture the rich history of Actonville.
On Saturday, November 15, she hosted a public viewing of her book, Portraits of Actonville, at the Actonville Flea Market.
During her final studies at Wits University, Bhana decided to trace her family’s history in Actonville, and realised that not much was documented about the community.
“I decided to document Actonville’s history and compile a photographic book with text pieces consisting of a common history, stories I heard all the time,” she said.
Bhana’s mission was to bridge the gap between the real and the imagined.
“I did this by using memory as a research method to gather information on a lost history and past, to create an identity for a place hidden from history,” she said.
The texts or narratives contained in the book are told in the first person, as if Actonville is telling its own story.
Bhana said using this method allows everyone who lived in the area to be acknowledged and not left out.
She plans to expand this project, by partnering with Shereno Printers, to publish another photographic book, to highlight other unknown historical aspects of Actonville, such as the meaning behind street names.
She is now appealing to Actonville residents who are willing to share their archives to come forward and tell their stories and what they know.
The book, Portraits of Actonville, and the photographic exhibition, will be on show at the Actonville Library until the end of November.
For more information on the book, email Bhana on bhana1515@gmail.com.
