Funny this Weekly Photo Challenge: Earlier today I did a few photoshoots in Hermanus and in between I pictured a guy with a wheelbarrow and while I shot this image I already knew I’d give it a minimalist look and in Black & White.
Why?
In my eyes the wheelbarrow is the essence of the South African economy. Without the wheelbarrow there would be no economy. The wheelbarrow (kruiwagen) came with the Dutch. Indigenous languages don’t have a word for wheelbarrow so they all use the Dutch or the English word. Earth and rocks for roads, waterworks were moved with the wheelbarrow; diamonds, gold and other precious treasures from the earth were moved with the wheelbarrow. Nowadays mining companies and farmers use excavators and lorries but in small scale operations the wheelbarrow is indispensable. And so are the guys behind the wheelbarrow. They are the ‘hidden workforce’ that keep the South African economy going.
What would South Africa be without the wheelbarrow?
6COMMENTS
I find the use of black and white in a South African photo to have more than a bit of irony in it. Lovely photo, Herman, as usual.
janet
See it as an ode to the ‘hidden workforce’ Janet. 😉
Herman
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What a wonderfully iconic image. Interesting about de kruiwagen. Ik wist niet dat het uit Nederland kwam.
Ik weet ook niet of het een Hollandse uitvinding is. Wel dat de Hollanders de kruiwagen hebben geïntroduceerd in de koloniën.
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