by Thuli Mchunu
Firstly, I would like to congratulate the team that made the Faces and Phases 2006-14 photobook come alive. When I laid my hands on the book my eyes were itching to read it, but unfortunately I was socializing with people so I couldn’t. I got home around 2:00 am and I said to myself, let me first read about my home girl Miss Pamella Dlungwana.
Pam Dlungwana featuring in Faces and Phases, photo taken by Zanele Muholi, Woodstock, Cape Town (2010)
As I was paging through I came across so many familiar faces. I tried to steal one or two sentences, but ended up reading the whole story. I heard the rooster and peeped through the window, it was dawn already, when I checked the time it was 04:45 am.
I love the way the book has been done, the layout of the stories, I also love the fact that it relates to each and everyone who lives a homosexual life. When I complement the layout it is because you can pick and choose whom you want to read about and the stories go straight to the point. Even a person who is not a bookworm can read and finish this book.
No one tells the story better than the owner of the story. The books that we normally read, which tackle homosexuality, are mostly based on research and assumptions. However with Faces and Phases, it is the real people and they are telling their true-life stories. To my surprise my daughter who is 25 years of age is so glued to this publication, and says, “mmmhh Mah it’s not easy out there yoooo!!!!!! I love you my Mom.”
That tells me that the book is not only for lesbians, she even asked me to borrow her friend when I finished reading.
Related articles
2015 Jan. 11: “Recognizing faces that graced the walls”
and
2014 Nov. 20: Faces and Phases book Review by Kea Modise – Moloto
