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Nic Bothma Off the Wire
In 1990 Nic Bothma was a student, reading Anthropology at the University of Cape Town. He was also a keen photographer and found a job as an assistant to a BBC news TV crew. It was an important and interesting period in South Africa, and the news of Nelson Mandela’s release brought the world’s best photojournalists to this country. Bothma was taking his photographs alongside James Nachtwey and the Turnley brothers. Local lens men such as Ken Oosterbroek, Joao Silva, Gary Bernard, Kevin Carter, Mike Hutchings and Steve Hilton-Barber were all active at that time, documenting the fall of apartheid. Bothma’s photographs found an audience, and from 1991 to 1994 he sold his images to local newspapers. In 1994 he made the career choice and became a full time freelance photojournalist. In 1995 he joined the Cape Times newspaper as staff photographer. He left South Africa in 1997 and sailed to the Caribbean onboard his 30 foot sloop. He spent the next five years sailing Shakti to her current location in Fiji in the South Pacific. Sailing in the tropical belt means that for six months of the year, during the hurricane season one had to be idle, and find a place to sit out the hurricane. Each year except for one, Bothma returned to South Africa to sell the images which he had taken during the previous six months. These were photographs of the unknown, cultures in remote outposts. Bothma sold his images, along with his own text, as feature articles for magazines. He also financed his trip by selling his photographs to stock agencies. The journey took him across the Atlantic Ocean, from South Africa to the Caribbean, and onto Venezuela, Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. From there he crossed to Panama and spent time with the unique San Blas people in the archipelago of San Blas, outside of Panama. After crossing the Panama Canal, he entered the Pacific and crossed to the Galapagos Islands. There he bid farewell to his crew, consisting of two friends, and sailed alone for the rest of the journey to Fiji. This was a twenty nine day non-stop solo passage from Galapagos to French Polynesia. In French Polynesia he visited the Marquise Islands, Tuamoto Islands, Tahiti, Mooraea, Huahine, Raiatea and then on to Aitutaki in the Cook Islands. From there he sailed to Nuie, Tonga before reaching his final destination, Fiji.
In 2003 Bothma joined European Press Agency (EPA) as chief photographer for West Africa. During the past two decades he has experienced the death of nine photography colleagues, who have died either on the frontline, while taking images, or indirectly, as a result of their passion for photography. These were the individuals who helped and inspired not only Bothma, but many other young, aspirant photographers too; Kevin Carter, Ken Oosterbroek, Gary Bernard, Steve Hilton-Barber, Jon Hrusa, Garth Stead, Tim Heatherington, Chris Hondros and Martin Adler. “These deaths are a testimony to the dangers inherent in this career whether immediate and physical, or latent and psychological. Photographers are the ones who journey to the back of a cave with a torch and return to tell the tribe what they have seen. These journeys take their toll in one way or another on every photographer who is willing to go to that far-off and often dangerous place. It’s unavoidable. Some deal with it better than others. Some never recover. Some die from it.” Bothma lives by the mantra of balance. As soon as he gets back from an assignment, he makes time to photograph big waves, not only is it challenging but it offers him much needed release. According to Bothma a good surf always clears his mind. Bothma concludes by saying: “from the limits we learn and as a photographer I play the role of communicator of these lessons. I will be a photographer until the day I die and would never want to do anything else. I love it.” ©Nic Bothma/Heidi Erdmann (October 2014)
Monsoon season Delhi A boy walks through the rain in the wet, hot and humid conditions during the monsoon season between July to september in Delhi August 1998. 1998 Edition of 10 Lightjet C-type Print on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper Available in sizes 59 x 84 cm 42 x 59 cm
Ceasefire Monrovia A Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebel observes a ceasefire at the New bridge amongst a bullet riddled house and bus in Freeport, Monrovia August 2003. After 14 years of civil war this ceasefire was the first sign of peace in the troubled West African nation. Gun battles between rebels and government forces had almost destroyed the city with hundreds of thousands loosing their lives and vast numbers displaced. 2003 Edition of 10 Lightjet C-type Print on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper Available in sizes 59 x 84 cm 42 x 59 cm
Refugees Darfur A Sudanese aid worker from the French aid organisation Solidarite watches over Internally Displaced People from the Darfur region who sit and wait outside a food distribution center in Muhajiriyah, Darfur, Sudan October 2004. More than 50 000 Sudanese were displaced in Muhajiriyah, a Sudan Liberation Army rebel controlled area of Darfur. The conflict and lack of security in Darfur resulted in over 2.5 million Sudanese to be displaced from their villages taking refuge in camps across the region. Aid organisations branched out across Darfur in an attempt to assist the vast number of displaced needing water, food, shelter, clothing and medical attention in what the United Nations called one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. 2005 Edition of 10 Lightjet C-type Print on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper Available in sizes 59 x 84 cm 42 x 59 cm
Amputees Freetown Members of the Single Leg Amputee Sports club of Sierra Leone chase for the ball whilst playing football in Freetown, Sierra Leone April 2006. There are more than 6000 amputees in Sierra Leone as a result of the brutal civil war. Charles Taylor the former Liberian leader who backed rebel groups that cut off limbs, mutilated and raped thousands of civilians in Sierra Leone was found guilty in April 2012 of all eleven charges levied by the Special Court for Sierra Leone in the Hague. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Reading the sentencing statement, Presiding Judge Richard Lussick said: “The accused has been found responsible for aiding and abetting as well as planning some of the most heinous and brutal crimes recorded in human history.� 2006 Edition of 10 Lightjet C-type Print on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper Available in sizes 59 x 84 cm 42 x 59 cm
Ronaldo Darfur A Sudanese boy sits with heads of families of Internally Displaced People from the Darfur region who wait outside a food distribution center in Muhajiriyah, Darfur, Sudan October 2004. More than 50 000 Sudanese were displaced in Muhajiriyah, a Sudan Liberation Army rebel controlled area of Darfur. The conflict and lack of security in Darfur resulted in over 2.5 million Sudanese to be displaced from their villages taking refuge in camps across the region. Aid organisations branched out across Darfur in an attempt to assist the vast number of displaced needing water, food, shelter, clothing and medical attention in what the United Nations called one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. 2004 Edition of 10 Lightjet C-type Print on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper Available in sizes 59 x 84 cm 42 x 59 cm
Surfers Muizenburg More than 200 surfers paddle out prior to setting a new Guinness World Record for the “Most surfers standing on one wave� at Muizenberg Corner, Cape Town, South Africa September 2006. After several attempts the record was broken by 73 surfers riding the same wave. 2006 Edition of 10 Lightjet C-type Print on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper Available in sizes 59 x 84 cm 42 x 59 cm
Campaign Rally Kinshasa A Congolese supporter of presidential candidate Joseph Kabila runs down a road as others clamber into and ontop of busses and trucks departing an election rally for Joseph Kabila in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, July 2006. The DRC held its first democratic presidential elections in 46 years in July 2006 with a record number of candidates contributing to the world’s largest ever ballot. Joseph Kabila won the election after he took control of the interim government following the peace deal which ended the bloody 1998-2003 war which killed an estimated 4 million people. 2006 Edition of 10 Lightjet C-type Print on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper Available in sizes 59 x 84 cm 42 x 59 cm
Horsemen Ouagadougou Horsemen from Burkina Faso gallop into the Stadium 4 Aout in Ouagadougou during the opening of the Panafrican Film and Television Festival in Burkina Faso February 2013. The Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou known as FESPACO (Festival panafricain du cinema et de la television de Ouagadougou) is the largest film festival in Africa. The festival begins with a grand ceremony in the national stadium and is the biggest regular cultural event on the African continent mostly focusing on African films and African filmmakers. 2013 Edition of 10 Lightjet C-type Print on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper Available in sizes 59 x 84 cm 42 x 59 cm
Aissata Diabily Six year old Malian girl Aissata Coulibaly poses for a photograph in the street in which she lives in Diabaly, Mali 26 January 2013. This photograph is part of a portrait series showing children living along the same street in the small rice growing community of the northern Malian town of Diabaly who in the month of January 2013 lived through a rapid chain of events in the Malian war. Within the space of a few weeks the town was siezed by Islamic militants and again liberated by a coalition of Malian and French forces. 2013 Edition of 10 Lightjet C-type Print on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper Available in sizes 59 x 84 cm 42 x 59 cm
Omar Diabily Five year old Malian boy Omar Djibo poses for a photograph in the street in which he lives in Diabaly, Mali 26 January 2013. This photograph is part of a portrait series showing children living along the same street in the small rice growing community of the northern Malian town of Diabaly who in the month of January 2013 lived through a rapid chain of events in the Malian war. Within the space of a few weeks the town was siezed by Islamic militants and again liberated by a coalition of Malian and French forces. 2013 Edition of 10 Lightjet C-type Print on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper Available in sizes 59 x 84 cm 42 x 59 cm
Adjumar Tacloban Eight year old Filipino boy Adjumar Nono poses for a portrait in the super typhoon devastated city of Tacloban, Leyte province, Philippines November 2013. Adjumar, living close to the waters edge, took refuge in a third floor building and survived with his family but their house was destroyed. Tacloban City bore the brunt of Haiyan, one of the world’s strongest typhoons, which killed 6,300 people and left more than 4 million homeless in the Philippines in November 2013. 2013 Edition of 10 Lightjet C-type Print on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper Available in sizes
Jomar Tacloban Nine year old Filipino boy Jomar Mosanto poses for a portrait in the super typhoon devastated city of Tacloban, Leyte province, Philippines November 2013. Jomar, living close to the waters edge, took refuge in a third floor building and survived with his family but their house was destroyed. Tacloban City bore the brunt of Haiyan, one of the world’s strongest typhoons, which killed 6,300 people and left more than 4 million homeless in the Philippines in November 2013. 2013 Edition of 10 Lightjet C-type Print on Fuji Crystal Archive Paper Available in sizes 59 x 84 cm 42 x 59 cm
Exhibitions Off the Wire & A Statesman at Work Erdmann Contemporary, Cape Town, South Africa 2014 Liberia a Decade of Peace Photoville, New York, USA 2013 Liberia - The Bridge The Photographers Gallery za, Cape Town, South Africa 2010 Fuji Africa Press Awards Exhibition Johannesburg, South Africa 2005 Ischia International Awards Exhibition Ischia, Italy 2005 Fuji Africa Press Awards Exhibition Johannesburg, South Africa 2003 Publications The New York Times International Herald Tribune LA Times The Times The Observer The Telegraph The Guardian South China Morning Post Die Welt De Volkskrant Sud Deutche Zeitung Frankfurter El Pais Le Monde Time Newsweek Stern The Surfers Journal Surfer The Surfers Path Vogue Cosmopolitan Paris Match Foto Szem
Assignments Covered Israel/Palestine Conflict in Gaza The Fall of Charles Taylor & the Civil War in Liberia The Sudan Civil War in Darfur Post-war rehabilitation in Sierra Lione & Liberia Togo Civil War Democratice Republic of Congo Civil Unrest & Elections Ghana Africa Cup of Nations Euro Soccer Championships Beijing Olympic Games London Olympic Games Daegu Athletics World Championships FIFA World Cup The Inception of Big Wave Surfing in South Africa The Aparthied Struggle & Transistion into Democracy in South Africa Ivory Coast transition into Democracy Awards Award of Exellence Pictures Of The Year International, USA 2012 First place United Nations Changing Lives Contest, United Nations 2008 Sports action winner National Press Photographers Association, USA 2007 National headliner award USA 2007 Sigma Delta Chi Award Society of professional journalists,2007 Fujifilm African press Photographer of the year South Africa, 2007 Fujifilm African press Photographer of the year South Africa, 2004 Collections University of South Africa (UNISA) Art Gallery
All images Š Nic Bothma & EPA Design & Layout Jannah Ruthven
ERDMANNCONTEMPORARY & thePHOTOGRAPHERSgalleryZA 84 Kloof Street l Cape Town, 8001 T. 021 422 2762 l E. galleryinfo@mweb.co.za www.erdmanncontemporary.co.za.