This research involves an investigation into narrative portrait photography as an engagement with
South African collector culture. Increasingly, contemporary photography projects concentrating on the
documenting of the human subject and society actively include the participation of the subjects. The
subject participates in their representation, allowing a more subject-sensitive photographic narrative.
The emphasis is placed on the personal experience rather than a collective or outsider’s view. The
methodological approach followed in this article reflects on the broader intrinsic understanding of
the collector culture, as well as the collaborative process between photographer and subject. This
is done in order to provide a point of departure for the discussion of the photo-narrative portraits
of Hannah Minkley. Minkley reflects on the quirky, obsessive tendencies of middle class, Eastern
Cape collectors as an indicator of the personal story of the individual and their relationship with their
collected objects, within the broader context of the collector culture. Her narrative portraits comment
on the acquisitive and possessive tendencies displayed by individual collectors in middle class South
African society. The paper provides possible insights into a process where the photographer explores
the subject’s opinion through the use of text and photographs, as well as, importantly, in relation to
people’s personal collections
Hierdie navorsing behels ʼn relaas in portret fotografie as skakeling met die Suid Afrikaanse
versamelkultuur. Al hoe meer kontemporêre fotografiese projekte wat fokus op die dokumentasie
van die menslike figuur as onderwerp asook die gemeenskap, sluit die aktiewe deelname van die
onderwerp in. Die onderwerp wat bestudeer word is betrokke by hulle eie uitbeelding in die foto wat
n onderwerp sensitiewe weergawe tot gevolg het en dra by tot die visuele kwaliteit van die verhaal
wat uitgebeeld word. Klem word geplaas op die persoonlike ervaring in plaas van ʼn buitestaander
of kollektiewe perspektief. Die metodiese benadering wat in hierdie artikel gevolg word, bepeins
ʼn breër wesenlike begrip van die versamelkultuur sowel as die medewerking tussen fotograaf
en onderwerp. Hierdie benadering dien ook as vertrekpunt in die bespreking van die fotografiese
verhaal portrette van Hannah Minkley. Minkley se werk reflekteer die eienaardige en obsessiewe
neigings van die middelklas Oos Kaapse versamelaar. Haar doel is om die lewensverhaal van die
individu en sy verhouding met sy versamelde items weer te gee, gesien in die konteks van die breër
versamelkultuur. Haar verhaal portrette lewer komentaar oor die hebsug en besitlike neigings van
versamelaars in n middelklas Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing. Hierdie artikel dra by tot insig in die
proses waardeur die fotograaf met betrekking tot die individu se persoonlike versamelings en sy
sieninge, ondersoek word deur middel van foto’s en teks.
