Photograph overview
Bicycle Balance by Jürgen Schadeberg captures a performer holding a bicycle above his head in a Sophiatown courtyard in 1955.
Pictured:
A performer balances a bicycle above his head in a crowded Sophiatown courtyard in 1955. Children and residents gather around him, watching from the ground, the steps and the windows, while a drummer stands to the side and washing hangs across the yard.
The photograph captures the energy and communal life of Sophiatown through a remarkable everyday performance. The upward movement of the bicycle draws the eye through the centre of the composition, while the surrounding faces, buildings and domestic details place the moment firmly within the life of the neighbourhood.
Photographed by Jürgen Schadeberg, Bicycle Balance reflects his ability to record spontaneous moments with both immediacy and careful observation. His photographs of Sophiatown documented its residents, musicians, streets and social life before the neighbourhood was destroyed under apartheid’s forced-removal policies.
Collecting Jürgen Schadeberg’s work carries particular significance within the history of South African photography. As one of the country’s most important documentary photographers, his images form part of a wider visual record of South Africa’s social, cultural and political history.
Schadeberg’s photographs of Sophiatown are especially valued for their historical importance and increasing rarity. His prints offer a direct connection to one of the most significant periods in South African cultural history and are held in major private and institutional collections internationally.
VIEW ARTIST PROFILE:
https://galleryf.co.za/jurgen-schadeberg/
Print Information:
Original archival silver gelatin hand-print by Jürgen Schadeberg.
Framed Included,
Image size: 26.5cm x 26.5cm
Paper Size: 48.5cm x 49.5cm
signed and inscribed with the title in ink in the margin Recto & Verso, Embossed
Important Notes:
International shipping available.
Estimated international delivery time: 5–7 days.
Framing options are available.
Jürgen Schadeberg | Bicycle Balance, Sophiatown, 1955.
A performer balances a bicycle above his head as residents gather in a Sophiatown courtyard. Photographed by Jürgen Schadeberg in 1955, this signed silver gelatin hand-print captures the energy and communal spirit of the neighbourhood.
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