(1995 - 2001)

I wanted to record close friends who were about to become parents. My challenge was how to portray a heavily pregnant woman with her partner in a way that was not overly contrived. My solution was to replicate their own bed space and in the photographs, record them directly from above. What unfolded was intriguing.

There are subtle differences in bed behaviour and in bed paraphernalia: what people wear and bring to their bed spaces. No matter how diverse or extreme the living conditions, these personal details are telling and at times are accompanied by sometimes even disturbing revelations. Beds are universal sites of intimacy. They are places of intense youthful passions, of violence, of weary companionship, and desperate loneliness. We are conceived and born in them, and often die in them, and we go to them for comfort and protection during times of illness and vulnerability.

I noticed that the relationship between myself as photographer and the ‘sleepers’ shifted from the ‘usual’ relationship between photographer and subject, where it is commonly believed that the photographer is the one who holds power. Here, I felt closely connected to the subjects rather than separated, the photographic process unfolded very simply without the need to organise or ‘direct’.

I started by providing a venue - a choice of mattress - and people brought their own bed items. Later, I photographed people in beds, in situ, using a scaffold system to achieve this. These images portray many individuals, including immediate family members, friends and later, strangers.

4 x 5” b/w negatives contact printed onto 8 x 10” silver gelatine paper and selenium toned.
225mm x 228mm

There are 17 images in the series and numbered: Bed i – Bed xvii

(Extract taken from Women by Women, 50 Years of Women's Photography in South Africa - see Publications for more details)

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