Not a tale of two cities, but a tale of two strangers. Today’s story really embodies humanity at its best.
A heartwarming story of two strangers from different backgrounds and walks of life interacting with each other … grab a tissue… you might need it!
“I have a name” is an incredible photo series showcasing everyday South Africans in the most phenomenal way. Proudly South African… one story at a time.
The stories are told by the incredible South Africans… raw & unedited. It’s a showcase of humanness, a reminder that behind every face, is a name.
Meet Joly, an incredible South African.
Joly has been a car guard at the Linksfield Shopping Center for the past 7 years. Andy, a mom of three, often shops here and brings her kids’ drawings in to be framed or laminated at the printing shop.
” She really is the kindest lady I know” Joly tells me ”
Being a car guard is often quite boring, some people ignore you, some people are nice to you, but Andy always takes the time to talk with me and will often come with her children and show me the drawings her children have done.
I told her one day that I also draw and she kept insisting that I show her some of my work. I looked her up on facebook and decided that instead of just bringing her one of the drawings I had already done, that I would do a portrait of her and give it to her as a gift.”
Andy tears up when she tells me how completely blown away she was when Joly handed her a rolled up piece of paper.
“I was with a friend that day… I unrolled the piece of paper and just completely fell apart. I could not stop crying… NEVER had I expected THIS kind of talent to be hiding in a car guard… and the fact that Joly would have taken the time and effort to draw a portrait of me… I was blown away.”
And what a portrait…. a striking black and white image, a perfect likeness. I ask Joly about his amazing talent.
“It’s a God-given talent. I never studied art, but have always enjoyed drawing from an early age. I remember being 8 and I would copy pictures from books and magazines.”
“I’m from the DRC, and did my first 2 years of chemical engineering studies. During the second Congo war and political instability, my wife and I decided to leave and seek asylum in South Africa.”
“We arrived in 2005. The first picture I drew in South Africa was a large portrait of Mandela – I gave it away to a friend. Mandela was everyone’s hero and a symbol for a better tomorrow.”
I ask Jolie what his dream job would be…
“A graphic designer” he says quietly.
Jolie lives in Yoville and has a wife and 3 children whom he is supporting on his salary as a car guard. After paying the shopping center R67 daily , he earns only the tips he makes from customers. On a good day he earns R200, most days less.
To order your own artwork contact Joly on 0733945820 or molimajoly@gmail.com
“I Have A Name” is a space where an anonymous photographer (we’ll call her J) is taking photos of everyday South Africans to showcase their incredible stories.
How do we bridge the great South African divides? Black vs white, young vs old, rich vs poor, men vs women? The divides that keep us from making eye contact with the beggar standing on the street corner, or the stranger in the lift.
CS Lewis said, “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously – no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.”
Come with me on a journey…the stories and names behind the faces of everyday South Africans living their life in your neighbourhood, on your streets.
I think you will discover that we have a lot in common.
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