In Going Dutch, SA photographer Obie Oberholzer captures the Dutch influence on SA through photographs of Dutch and SA towns that share the same name.
He visits nine towns in each country, including Ermelo, Utrecht, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and shares his view on the world through his photos and quirky stories.
Below a photo of elephant tusks leaning against a red wall, he writes: “I think no further, feel no more, just do what I do best, search find and show. With a pledge of anonymity, and the casual art of bullshitting, I get the ‘honour’ to shoot the trophy room of a big game hunter. Here’s the sad image taken by an undercover fraudster.”
This is Oberholzer’s 12th published work. He previously lectured photography at the Natal Technikon in Durban and Rhodes University in Makhanda after studying photography in München, Germany in 1970 and later returning to complete his master’s diploma in 1979.
The book focuses primarily on landscapes, architecture and portraits. Oberholzer, while admitting the book is not meant to be a history book, nevertheless gives important historical context to SA’s colonisation by the Dutch and the ties between the two countries, as well as his upbringing under apartheid as a young man living on a farm in a predominantly white, Afrikaans, conservative Christian community.
Most of the photos are accompanied by anecdotes about Oberholzer’s past or that provide historical or observational context.
His photography style is rich and vibrant, often using contrasting colours, such as the vivid orange lights of a city against the magnificent blue backdrop of the early evenings. His use of colour and often unorthodox composition ensure that no photo is boring or predictable.
Oberholzer holds a deep love for SA and its people, from the care he puts into each composition to the way he writes about his adventures and the people he meets along the way. There is a real love and passion felt on every page, which makes for a truly unique and interesting coffee-table read.
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