Photograph overview
The Catacombs, 23 February 1968 by Billy Monk presents a nightclub scene photographed in Cape Town on 23 February 1968.
Pictured:
A moment inside The Catacombs, one of the Cape Town nightlife settings associated with Monk’s photographic archive. Further details about the people and activity pictured are available on request.
Monk photographed at close range, placing the club’s patrons and their interactions at the centre of his work. The enclosed nightclub setting provides a private social environment in which dress, gesture and personal relationships become part of the photographic record.
Photographed during apartheid, the work belongs to Monk’s wider documentation of Cape Town nightlife between 1967 and 1969. These photographs preserve informal encounters and social spaces that received little attention in official representations of South African life at the time.
Billy Monk worked as a nightclub bouncer in Cape Town and photographed people at dockside clubs during the late 1960s. His familiarity with these venues gave him sustained access to their patrons and allowed him to produce a close, direct account of the city after dark.
The Catacombs, 23 February 1968 is relevant to collections focused on South African documentary photography, nightlife and social history. The recorded date places the photograph within Monk’s wider archive while preserving a specific evening in Cape Town’s late-1960s club culture.
View Artist Profile:
https://galleryf.co.za/billy-monk-gallery-f/
Print Details:
White boarder around the image.
Gelatin Silver Print.
Paper size: 40.64cm × 30.48cm.
Unframed.
Important Notes:
International shipping is available.
Estimated international print & delivery time: 10–15 working days.
Framing options are available.
Billy Monk | The Catacombs, 23 February, 1968
The Catacombs, 23 February 1968 by Billy Monk records a late-night scene at The Catacombs in Cape Town. The black-and-white photograph forms part of Monk’s direct social record of the city’s nightclub patrons during the late 1960s.
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