| Araminta de Clermont | |
| Birth Date: | 1971 |
| Birth Place: | Isle of Man |
| Nationality: | British |
| Field: | Photography |
| Awards: | Career Development Award at Spier Contemporary 2010 |
Araminta de Clermont (born 1971) is a British photographer who in 2010 was living and working in London, although she had spent nearly ten years living in Cape Town.[1] Her work explores rites of passage, and the visual currencies of group identification[2] and is particularly concerned with highlighting the art forms and self-expression of her often marginalised subjects. She is perhaps best known for her bodies of work exploring the relationship between person and environment in South Africa.[3] In 2010 she was a winner of Spier Contemporary.[4]
de Clermont's childhood was split between London and the Isle of Man, where her grandfather Charles Birkin, the renowned writer of gothic horror stories, lived. She briefly modelled in London in her late teens, including for publications such as iD Magazine,[5] a magazine pioneering The Straight Up, a documentary portraiture style her own work can be seen to echo.
de Clermont studied Architecture at The Bartlett University College London, gaining a BSc, before turning to photography, which she studied first at Central St Martins School of Art, and later at Ruth Prowse School of Art, following a move to Cape Town. In 2008 she was selected to take part in a master class led by Stephen Shore.
de Clermont worked initially as a staff photographer at The Sunday Times, under picture editor Greg Marinovich. "A complete education in itself, both in photography and in the realities of a nation attempting to recover".[6] She later turned freelance to enable her to concentrate on her own bodies of work, while continuing to contribute to the paper, as well as shooting for various English publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sunday Times.[7]
Her main series have a universal theme of metamorphosis, with all those photographed having undergone intense physical transformations mirroring deep inner changes that they have either gone through, are going through, or hope to go through, whether for a night, several months, or for a period of years.[8]
Life After is an exploration into the tattoos and lives of members of the South African prison gangs The Numbers Gang upon their release back into society after many years, if not decades, in prison. de Clermont was Initially interested in documenting the marks for their own sakes, and exploring the motives behind such extensive tattooing: whether it was about a need to belong, or whether it simply reflected an absolute immersion in “The Number”, whether the tattoos created an armour, or whether they instead offered a voice, a potent form of self-expression, where the prisoners’ skin was perhaps their only remaining possession and form of self-expression. However she became increasingly interested in the men themselves, the journeys they had been on, and perhaps the most pertinent question of all: how they lived with such “branding” after their prison sentence ended.[9]
Before Life looks at girls from The Cape Flats, (a vast area outlying Cape Town), dressed up for their Matric Dance (South Africa's equivalent of The Prom). In this area, still haunted by all the attendant problems of poverty and displaced communities, the night is a seminal moment for most matriculants and their families. For many families, the youngster may be the first member of their family ever to have completed school, previous generations having been disadvantaged by the apartheid era education system and economic conditions. For others, especially in the cases of more impoverished families, it may primarily be a night of fantasy escapism, a chance to live out their dreams through costume and styling, their first and possibly their last real opportunity to dress up no holds-barred and be the centre of attention.[10] Through her use of stage lighting the youngsters against their home backdrops, de Clermont raises questions about whether such hinterlands can be merely backdrops or whether these environments will in fact swallow the youngster back up, once the spotlights have been switched off.
A New Beginning focuses on recently initiated young Xhosa and Sotho men living in the townships and shacklands surrounding Cape Town. For the majority of these young men, the circumcision ritual is a watershed, an apparent opportunity to start a fresh new way of being. For up to 6 months after his time in the bush, a newly initiated man will wear clothing denoting his status as a new man, showing that he has left childhood behind, has gone through the circumcision process (with all the accompanying challenges) and has entered a new phase of life, maturity, and responsibility. Subscribing to certain rigorous guidelines, such attire is instantly recognisable within a particular culture. "New" Xhosa men, or Amakrwala, will wear blazers, buttoned up shirts, smart trousers, polished shoes and hats. "New" Sotho men, or Makolwane, will wear traditional blankets, hats, and beads. This outward demonstration of an inner change is a hugely significant part of the process, and a great source of pride. Unknown people will engage with the "new man" on a completely different level than if he were dressed in his normal clothes. As these suits demand immediate respect, so too do the men wearing them. de Clermont photographed the men wherever she found them, raising questions about the validity of hope and the concept of a new start, when seen in the context of the individual's surroundings and the infrastructure provided by the government.[11]
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