A photographic journey through Soweto, capturing movement, style, community and the beauty of everyday life.
There’s a special kind of magic that happens when two visions move with the same heartbeat. That’s what happened when a photographer @jimm.andtonic and Creative Director @cheddar_nunez, shot One Body. One Lens. One Story. A photographic showcase. Rather than working from a predetermined shot list, the project was built around a simple idea: chase the sun and create from instinct.
Across three locations in Soweto, the showcase moves through different expressions of kasi, from dance and fashion, to skate culture, to the quiet beauty of everyday life.
The first story centres on @sowetohippie, whose creative journey began with dance. For him, dance became a source of purpose, confidence and community before expanding into a deeper relationship with fashion and the individuality of Skhothane culture. That progression has since developed into a multidisciplinary creative practice, with his work continuing to move between different forms of expression.
The photographs capture that evolution through movement, clothing and attitude. Rather than treating fashion as the starting point, the images explore the journey behind it. It’s about how dance can lead to style, how style can lead to creativity, and how a creative language can develop from the environment in which it begins.
Chapter Two: Skate Culture In Soweto
Skating has taken Geezy beyond Soweto, creating opportunities that began with something as simple as a skateboard and a place to ride. His journey has since come full circle through @others.skateboarding, where he works with younger skaters in the community, introducing them to the culture that helped shape his own path.
Here, the photography becomes more kinetic. The images respond to the speed and unpredictability of skating, capturing Geezy in motion while allowing the surrounding environment to remain an important part of the frame. The result is less a documentation of tricks and more a portrait of movement, community and possibility.
The Final Part Of The Showcase Strips Things Back Even Further.
In Braamfischer, Soweto, the camera moves through the neighbourhood without a specific subject in mind. There is no formal setup or predetermined sequence. Instead, the photographs emerge from whatever catches the eye, people, light, gestures, interactions and fleeting moments.
Familiar faces begin to appear along the way. Friends. People @cheddar_nunez grew up with. Children from the neighbourhood. The photographs consequently begin to feel less like an observation of a place and more like a record of home.
This is where One Body. One Lens. Our Story. finds its strongest point of connection. Rather than approaching kasi through a familiar visual language of absence or limitation, the showcase turns its attention towards what is already there: style, energy, friendship, humour, movement and beauty.
For the younger subjects especially, the camera becomes a way of offering a different reflection of themselves, one where their presence carries the same intention and importance afforded to subjects in studios, campaigns and magazines.
From dance to skateboarding. From fashion to community. From creative ambition to everyday life. Three locations become three different ways of seeing the same city but together, they form a photographic record of a day spent looking closer at home.
CREDITS:
Shot on: Sony α7 IV + 28–70mm F2
Creative Director: @cheddar_nunez
Photographer: @jimm.andtonic
Copywriter: @gift.makhubu
Starring: @sowetohippie, @geezy_lordship
Special S/O: @katlego_lefakane
