As South Africa responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, taking strict measures to prevent the country from
falling into a frenzied state similar to that of Italy, Spain, and the United States amongst other nations, I
was challenged to constrict my photographic efforts to find new ways to engage themes that I am
passionate about within Cape Town. Stringent quarantine regulations limited my usual options to explore
issues around displacement, identity, and globalization. However, I was soon compelled by the
observations made during weekly grocery trips for essentials. What I found within my local store was a
space transformed. The once mundane activity of acquiring food now brought into sharper focus the
disparities that continue to exist in spaces occupied by Coloured and African versus White communities
within post-Apartheid South Africa.
Through my documentary series, Seeking Solace in a Grocery Store, I aim to capture how dynamics
surrounding status, race, and politics have shifted in Cape Town as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic
by illuminating the contrasts and nuances within higher versus lower tier grocery stores. Within this
project, I highlight how the accessibility and familiarity of premium food retail establishments have
transformed them into places of refuge and comfort for upper class residents of affluent suburbs such as
Constantia, Cape Town. In contrast, this work also touches on the pandemic-related socio-cultural and
political shifts that have taken place within middle to lower class discounted supermarkets. As the streets
are increasingly policed, outdoor markets have grown in scarcity in recent weeks, forcing many families to
journey greater distances to reach traditional grocery stores. The privilege of having access to food within
a short distance from your home is revealed by the loss of local markets and drastic decline in the number
of individual hawkers selling fresh fruits and vegetables alongside highways and busy intersections.
Remnants of the Apartheid regime continue to show face as we come to terms with how the displacement
of working class-communities to the outskirts of Cape Town (under the Group Areas Act of 1950) has lead
to obstacles to their ability to access necessary provisions during the pandemic. In taking the abstraction
of the Coronavirus as a global phenomenon and capturing its impact in the lived environment, Seeking Solace in a Grocery Store intends to depict how the pandemic exacerbates lingering issues within South
African society surrounding segregation and gentrification. https://www.ayeshakazim.com/