Nicky Newman >>> NEW BLOOD

I studied Journalism and Pyschology at Rhodes in the mid-80s. Photojournalism was the course I loved most. Armed with an old SLR with a broken light meter, I eagerly went out onto the streets to shoot the apartheid battles that were raging. Slap, bang, the Emergency Media Regulation were enforced. No taking pictures of any kind, of any action, or police or building bla bla with hectic fines or jail time as a consequence. I learned to shoot quickly, from the hip, with one chance to get the shot. Rapidly change film, hide it, smuggle it out and keep shooting, disguising the camera by wrapping it in a scarf.

20 years later I make documentaries but photography remains my first love, although I’ve never really shaken the feeling that I’m doing something “wrong/illegal” when I’m taking a picture, I still tend to look over my shoulder a lot. There is something about a single image that doesn’t talk or move, that you can take your time over, look at, absorb, come back to it, look again – that a film doesn’t satisfy. I find myself trying to use stills in my films all the time.

For this MOPP exhibition, I’ve chosen a selection of pictures I’ve shot over the years that speak of connections of one kind or another. All hail to the energy, ideas and spirit of the core team who have gotten this inspirational happening together.