Once Upon A Town… in King William’s Town

Posted on 27 July 2015

Internationally renowned street artist, Falko, is road-tripping around SA, painting dorpies as he goes. The more obscure the place, the better. His mission: To change the locals’ perception of value. Along for the ride that is Once Upon A Town, is photographer Luke Daniel. This is Luke’s dispatch from King William’s Town in the Eastern Cape…
 
The Buffalo River
For Ginsberg locals, the morning commute begins as they make their way over Steve Biko bridge, through the low laying mist, past the truck scrapyard and into King William’s Town. The Buffalo River winds through the town, smothered by garbage in the city, but broadening its banks as it carves into the Eastern Cape landscape – running strong and deep alongside smaller villages which rest on the outskirts of King William’s Town.

Phakamisa sits at the top of a hill overlooking the landscape surrounding King. Sparsely populated settlements dot the rolling green hills for as far as the eyes can see – Bisho, Zwelitsha and Dimbaza.

A long and uneven dirt road runs from the tightly packed area of Phakamisa, through lush grazing pastures and kraals, eventually meandering unannounced into Chachu – the less developed, older neighbour to Phakamisa.

 

Falko and a local discussing story.

Falko and a local discussing story.


Derelict huts and houses lay scattered across the land. Livestock roam freely, summoned back to their holding areas by a simple whistle from a lifelong herder, whose body bares the markings of a long and hard life far outside Buffalo City.

The sky turns crimson as the sun descends on the Eastern Cape – local kids fashion a soccer ball out of plastic bags and kick around in the dust until darkness falls, and the stars and moon return to their nightly position as the streetlights of Chachu.

 

A freshly decorated Phakamisa home eyes the night.

A freshly decorated Phakamisa home eyes the night.


There’s a ‘Doctor Dre’ in Phakamisa. Like the original, he’s a (self-proclaimed) music producer extraordinaire, supplying beats to aspiring rappers from King William’s Town to East London and beyond. He pays bills by operating a car wash in front of his home – although he admits that a car hasn’t been washed there in a while. Truthfully, there aren’t many cars to wash in Phakamisa, and Dre has probably cleaned them all already – more than once.

He tells me about his cattle – all 26 of them. How the new town bylaw has made it illegal for him to keep his cows and prized bulls on his property. Something about urban spaces, and the destruction caused by cattle wandering through the residential area, which has become more crowded over the last twenty years.

“It’s bullshit, brah. My family has had cattle on the field next to the house for over twenty years, and now they’re saying it’s illegal, that residents are complaining. But, you know, these cows were here before most of the people in this area.”

It’s fitting then that Falko painted a pair of cattle in a final kiss goodbye, on Dre’s wall.

 

Dr Dre of Phakamisa.

Dr Dre of Phakamisa.


Ta Shakes’ eyes are permanently bloodshot, matching the colour of his red beanie. His stagger across the dry front yard is true Phakamisa swagger that can’t be imitated. His home, which serves as a local clubhouse, has been renovated by Buntu as part of an ongoing arts project – honouring Shakes’ commitment to providing a (mostly) safe and fun environment for kids and adults alike.

Vuyo has a compact camera slung over his shoulder at all times, replacing the batteries often, and photographing daily life in Phakamisa. He argues with Dre about the new bylaw concerning cattle, and the failed car wash he started a few years ago. He does it all with a smile, though – his skinny frame hidden under dreadlocks. He’s working on creating images for an upcoming exhibition at Ta Shakes’ house – the final part of Buntu’s renovation project, which culminates in a local collaborative art project.

 

Rust in peace.

Rust in peace.


Sitting on the steps of Ma-J’s Tavern, watching the sun set once more on Phakamisa, an old Mercedes sits across the road rusting back into the ground, as beers spill in the dirt in a nearby alleyway. Tomorrow is the 16th of June – Youth Day. There’s an upcoming event in Ginsberg, Steve Biko’s hometown – but I’ll be on the road to Mt Frere, a few hundred kilometres up into the Transkei, with new memories of the Eastern Cape and the humble lands which lay proud and potholed around King William’s Town.

 
‘Phakamisa‘ – it means “to uplift”. See more of Falko and Luke’s trip to Garies at Once Upon A Town where you can also see more of Falko’s art from the walls of King.






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