['Cape Town - Table Mountain', 'Cape Town - from the quarry'] before 1880

These photographs of Cape Town, taken by Sam Alexander, capture more than just a landscape; they reveal the symbolic weight of a place shaped by trade, colonialism, and the enduring power of nature. Observe Table Mountain in the upper photograph. Its imposing presence mirrors the classical symbol of the 'axis mundi', or the world's center, a concept seen in ancient temples and Renaissance paintings alike. Just as the mountain dominates the landscape, it embodies a central point of orientation and stability. Below, the photograph from the quarry reveals the built environment, reflecting humanity’s imprint on the land. The city, like so many others, represents an attempt to impose order onto the wild. But nature, as always, looms large. It is a visual echo of humanity’s eternal negotiation with nature, a story told and retold through art and architecture across millennia. These photographs are not mere images; they are fragments of a cultural memory that invite us to consider the complex interplay between our world and our history.