this project followed photographers brian hill (amsterdam, the netherlands) and stan engelbrecht (cape town, south africa) as they completed weekly assignments they set for themselves during the year of 2008.

stan  engelbrecht

margin ‘mr. tattoo’ mhlomgo, photographed outside china city complex in bruma lake, johannesburg.

margin is a metal-goth. he is also a tattoo artist who always travels with his gear, complete with medical grade sealed needles and inks, safely stashed in a fanny pack under his shirt. he might be from the township of soweto but he’s carved a very unusual path in life for himself. margin truly represents the the end of the stereotype as we know it, and bravely breaks away from the conservative mindsets of his elders and peers. neither he nor his parents ever realized how accurately his name would represent him as a grown man.   

brian hill

tower of pallets, nieuwjaars vreugde vuur, scheveningen, netherlands

on the 31st december each year, the locals of scheveningen, the hague, gather on the beach to build a tower of pallets. close to midnight, this huge tower is set alight and becomes a bonfire which burns right through the night, keeping everybody warm during the new year celebrations, eating, drinking and fireworks. all involved, work super hard all day into the night. on the neighboring beach of duindorp, their 'rivals' work just as hard to build an even bigger mountain of pallets. this annual activity is taken very seriously, as there is honor involved, honor of hosting the largest bonfire, which can be see from miles away. these pyramids, reaching an impressive 15 meters in hight, are build by man power and 2 forklifts. the heat given off by the fire can be felt more than 100m away. these massive man-built towers of fire are impressive to say the least.

to see video footage of past of this annual event, check our youtube "nieuwjaars vreugde vuur".