Photographer and former model Josie Borain reflects on revisiting her archive in Pretty Boy at Ultraviolet Gallery, analogue photography and why film and negatives still matter today.
Between 10and5 caught up with Josie Borain during her current exhibition, Pretty Boy, at Ultraviolet Gallery. The show draws from her archive, with a new generation selecting images directly from her original contact sheets.
Presented at a time when film is once again part of the conversation among younger photographers, the exhibition shifts the focus from nostalgia to longevity. These are photographs made with instinct and patience, rediscovered years later and given new context.
Here, Borain reflects on the archive, analogue practice and the life of a negative.
What inspired you to present Pretty Boy at this moment?
My daughter Willow who is also a photographer and a lab technique at Cape Film Supply has been pushing me for years to relook at my photo’s. So, her boyfriend Dylan who owns the gallery Ultraviolet spent a week in Vermaaklikheid going through my contact sheets and chose the images that are on show at the gallery. I didn’t get too involved truthfully because it’s interesting to see what other people’s perspectives are.
Can you take us back to the time when these photographs were made? What was shaping your practice then?
What was shaping my practice then? I just loved walking the streets of NY or catching the subway, I see a photograph in most things as I look around. I have never really tried to analyse why I take the photos I take. I feel it’s more organic and in the spur of the moment! A raw instinct.
What was it like revisiting these images years later?
I must say I loved looking back, I see loads of photo’s I really enjoy. They’re pretty timeless too, except for the cars.
Did anything surprise you during the process of rediscovering this work?
Not really. Just how much I used to shoot but truthfully, I used to take my camera with me everywhere I went. I love cameras so I was always buying a new one (those days when I had money ha-ha). When digital came out I lost my passion for cameras, they feel different sound different and obviously the picture looks different.
Many photographers are returning to film today. Why do you think analogue photography is resonating again?
It’s a romantic format but also better quality, so it makes sense in some ways but unfortunately it is so expensive now, only the privilege can shoot film.
How does working with film influence your pace, decision-making, and relationship with your subjects?
It totally influences everything. I will take more time setting up my frame as I will only take one photo of what I am shooting not like digital when you can take thousands of images of the same subject. One loses the passion when you shoot digital it’s like fast food verses a brilliant chefs plate of deliciousness!
What role does archiving play in your practice?
I kind of archived my photos. I live in a state of organised chaos truthfully. I most probably have some form of ADHD or something, so it’s quite hard for me to get all my ducks in a row, but having said that I did manage to keep most of my negs in some type of order, I mean I know where they are…
How do you see this body of work contributing to South Africa’s visual and cultural memory?
I have no idea, I don’t really follow art fashion or trends so I must be honest I’m not sure where or how I fit in, if at all.
What do you hope audiences experience when they encounter the exhibition?
That they see I was not just a pretty face. I had a talent too. Ha-ha… and anything goes.
What advice would you give to younger photographers who are exploring analogue photography today?
Maybe have two bodies one digital for your everyday walking about but keep the analog camera with you too, and when you see a photo that you think really counts snap it off with film too. Like I said it’s so expensive now. Also, collect your negatives you might need those one day. It surprises me most people don’t collect their negs they leave them at the lab and the lab throws them away after a few week…for me that’s just crazy! Your negs are everything.
Exhibition Details
Exhibition: Pretty Boy
Artist: Josie Borain
Dates: 19 February 2026 – 10 April 2026
Venue: Ultraviolet Gallery, Cape Town
Pretty Boy sits quietly against the speed of digital culture. The exhibition returns to the negative, the contact sheet and the archive and to the idea that some images are made to last.
