Chris Saunders & Friends Chris Saunders is a multiple award winning photographer, filmmaker and director. Photographs by Chris Saunders
Installation from Not X CS at Wall Play in New York
Not X CS - collaboration with Floyd Avenue
C
. reative Feel recently fell for the work of
has worked for nearly a decade) or taking part in the
photographer Chris Saunders via a photo-
current SA-UK seasons, from whom he recently received
shoot undertaken by himself and stylist
funding for Ghost Diamond, ‘a Zulu Samurai story, told
Francois Ferreira, with whom Saunders often
on the streets of Joburg,’ describes Saunders. ‘It’s an
collaborates. The shoot featured items created
interpretive dance piece with Manthe [Ribane, a dancer
by Ferreira, ‘taking cultural references from Africa and
known for her work with Die Antwoord], and a six-track EP
translating them to South African culture and style, mainly
created by an electronic musician called Gervase Gordon,
as seen on the streets of Joburg,’ says Ferreira. One of those
otherwise known as OKZHARP. The music that he makes is
images became CF’s May cover: ‘Hair has such a powerful
very much inspired by South African dance music, as well
meaning in African culture’, says Ferreira of the image.
as Japanese culture; so we made a very experimental set of
‘Image Junkies and I collaborated in the making of this mask.
six short films to music, that are interpretive dance pieces
The man is in an overall from House of Ole. The idea was to
on the streets of Joburg.’
show the worker... The mask shows the complexity of the
place, collaborating with artists, designers, ‘culture crews’
that we all can relate to.’
and academics, both local and international. Small wonder
As it turns out, Saunder’s work has often featured on
30 / Creative Feel / May 2015
Saunders seems to have projects on the go all over the
country and the mask helps the character not be specific, but
he once or twice mentions feeling a little ‘over-burdened’
our pages – be it documenting the work of artists such as
on the day of our interview: in addition to a forthcoming
Athi-Patra Ruga and Anthea Moys (with whom Saunders
exhibition, a coffee table book on pantsula, and any number
Creative Feel / May 2015 / 31