INTERVIEW WITH SIYA-JR NHLEKO

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IQHAWE: In your opinion, what makes JR stand out from any other photographer?

Siya-JR: I have a different story to tell, which is a story where I feel like I am in the middle of two generations. I am between the older generation that believes that you have to study photography and understand the technicalities of it, while the other is the younger generation that believes that there are no rules to what photography is and because of my age, I am right in between them. I got into photography through the older generation mentoring me, but through my style, I would say I identify more with the younger generation. I am what you call a creative photographer, I do a lot of crazy things. My concept, editing style and what I choose to photograph makes me stand out.

IQHAWE: Which aspect of what you shoot, be it the body/ buildings, do you find the most interesting? And how has that aspect become your brand/ medium of shot?

Siya-JR: It is more of the creative conceptualised shoots that I enjoy the most because that is where I get to fully express myself. My entire life I have been struggling to explain to people what goes on in my mind, and with some of the stuff that I shoot, I can start showing people glimpses of what happens in my mind. But to be specific, fashion photography is what I enjoy the most.

IQHAWE: Does colour and lighting play a major role in the process of your shooting, or is it something that you later edit in to emphasize the images’ uniqueness?

Siya-JR: I would not necessarily say I put that much emphasis on colour and lighting, as that for me is a lot of rules and I am not for them. However, you need to understand lighting for you to get your image to look a certain way. But for me, it is not something that I have put full emphasis on, I do consider it in terms of styling and location, but not in terms of colour.

IQHAWE: How would you best describe the medium of your shooting style?

Siya-JR: For me, my shooting style is more of a visual representation of how I see the world. I see the world in weird colours, images, and ideas. So, through my work, I attempt to bring to life how I see the world.

IQHAWE: As cliché as this sounds, what inspired you to start shooting? And how has your developing journey been?

Siya-JR: My intention was never to be a photographer, instead I was a fashion designer at the time. I used to make graphic t-shirts, hoodies, etc., then I would look for a way to shoot them to create a look-book. I was handson with that fashion brand and I wanted to shoot everything myself, so I began shooting with my phone, this was back in 2016. I realised that people relate more to the photography than the clothes that are being photographed. So, from there onwards, I started photographing random things such as flowers and sunsets.It has been a crazy journey, four years of just doing madness and allowing people into my craziness and them accepting it.

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IQHAWE: Given that the photography realm is vast, what could you say is a tool or a resource that you would give beginners to start from?

Siya-JR: In terms of resources, I think the biggest resource that one would have is to develop their visual literacy more than trying to have the best equipment. Develop the visual literacy of what you want an image to look like, what you want your style of imagery to be, and what you want to take pictures of. I consider this very important, beyond the resources of equipment and clients. I feel that is where a lot of creatives lose it because they want to go in and have the best camera and best edit, whilst not wanting to look at or understand visually what they want to see first.

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IQHAWE: What tools have you been using through your progressing journey?

Siya-JR: In 2016, I started with a phone- a Sony M4 aqua phone to shoot events; nobody knew this because they just saw the processed images. From then on, I moved to the standard entry camera, which was a Canon 13 000D. Life was still a bit easy with that camera because it did not have complicated settings. I later moved on to a Canon 5D Mac three, which is the one that I am currently using now. There is also a lot of other things like studio lights, reflectors, flashlights and all the other equipment.

IQHAWE: In a short burst of words, describe yourself and your work.

Siya-JR: Creative. Controversial. Great.

IQHAWE: Given the global and national standstill of the pandemic. How have you managed to still shoot?

Siya-JR: I went through the first 21 days without shooting anything. When we got to level 4 of the lockdown, I felt like I could not do this anymore because I was used to shooting daily. I decided to go out and shoot, even if it is just buildings. By the time we got to level three, I started arranging small shoots with friends near me, just so we could have something to do and not lose our minds. In June, I was already shooting for brands that were preparing for level two.

IQHAWE: What have you been doing to keep yourself sane as Jr and as Jr the photographer?

Siya-JR: For one, I have been spending time with my friends quite a lot because I live alone, I cannot stand staying alone for too long. Even before lockdown, I was hardly at my place, I was always working and would go home to sleep. About three weeks back, I started planning for a series called “Sophiatown is gone”, started shooting for it two weeks ago and most of the images were posted last week.

IQHAWE: What was the drive and purpose behind “Sophiatown is gone”?

Siya-JR: We had just finished shooting a series before, that is called Black lives series, which was influenced by the Black Lives Matter movement. As I was looking for references, I came across images of Sophiatown on Pinterest, and I thought to myself, “this was a dope era”. The pictures looked good, but I hated the fact that they were in black and white. In trying to understand this era, I thought it would be nice to recreate the images, just in colour this time. I think that through time, whenever we do speak of apartheid or black people in that era, all we ever focus on is the sorrows and not the victories that came out of it; the music, fashion, and the life that they lived beyond being segregated.

IQHAWE: Pictures say 1000 words. What storyline has been your favourite? From your own work or from someplace that you got inspiration.

Siya-JR: “Sophiatown” has to be the one that resonates the most with me. This is because I feel like a part of it, instead of just being a photographer. From the creative direction to telling people the story and trying to educate people my age who might not know about Sophiatown.

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