Boogie Woogie Photography is delighted to present “Defiance and Decadence Under Apartheid”, 17 September — 15 October 2019, the first solo exhibition in Hong Kong of the South African photographer Billy Monk. Boogie Woogie Photography, in collaboration with The Container (Tokyo) and the Billy Monk Collection (Cape Town), will present twenty handprinted silver gelatin prints photographed by Monk in the notorious Cape Town night club The Catacombs between 1967 and 1969 – the height of the apartheid-era rule.
Billy Monk earned a sulfurous and enigmatic reputation from an early age. He was sent to jail for two years as a teenager for petty crimes. Throughout his life, he held a variety of odd jobs including modeling,photographer’s assistant, diamond digger, proprietor of a vegetarian restaurant, and of course, bouncer and photographer.
His photographic works were discovered by the photographer Jac de Villiers and the journalist Lin Sampson. Not only were they fascinated by the aesthetics of Billy Monk, but also by the informative anecdotes and annotations kept by the artist, adding value and joy to the curation. Billy Monk’s very first exhibition was held at The Market Gallery, Johannesburg in 1982 and was well received. Unfortunately, Billy Monk never reaped the glory of his acclaim, he was shot dead in a petty argument on his way to the exhibition.
The apartheid policy enforced a wide variety of social, political and economical restrictions between people of different colours or creeds, but the underground subculture at The Catacombs remained defiant. Skin colour was not an issue, nor sexual or gender preferences. Black and white revelers rubbed shoulders with other marginalized minorities, and with the many Asian seamen who frequented the nearby port. The night club brought together an eclectic audience consisting of the eccentric—from prostitutes, to transgendered, gays, sailors and young locals. They gathered together for the love of jazz music and partying.
Billy Monk’s photographs are a kind of guilty pleasure. While they can be appreciated for both their gorgeous aesthetics, joyfulness and humour, they also reveal an unexpected portrait of Cape Town under apartheid as a rare documentation of the defiance of the public. Fifty years later, Billy Monk still symbolizes the decadence and rebellion of the common people during that time. His passionate photographs of the world that he was a part of are full of intimacy and genuine spirit and perhaps the reason they are still so well received, to this day.
Defiance and Decadence under Apartheid, Photographs of Billy Monk
