Zuid-Afrikaanse mensen bewerken een stuk grond bij Shewasaulu 1968

Willem Jacob van den Berg captured this scene of South African people working the land near Shewasaulu. The picture is small, it could fit in your hand, and is adhered to the blue page of an album. I wonder, was van den Berg in conversation with the photographer, his contemporary, or perhaps he was just documenting what he saw around him. Either way, I'm intrigued by what he chose to capture. There's a real sense of place here, but it's also a little mysterious, those figures in the distance feel like ghosts. The sky is such a pale, washed-out blue, that flattens the scene. As a painter, I’m thinking about how I might bring depth to this scene, I think I would be tempted to rework those greens, pushing them around until I get that humid, sun-drenched feeling just right. Ultimately, it’s this kind of looking that makes art so compelling – a constant dialogue across time and place.