Ernest Cole: Below Subsistence
A survey in 1959 concluded that a South African family of five needed a minimum income of $77, without provision for medical care, education, furniture or holidays
"Payday anywhere else in the world is the happiest of days. It’s a good time to smile...that comes with a bit of cash on your hip. But in South Africa, payday is the worst of days. It’s time when you must settle your accounts, and always the debts amount to more than you have earned. In the midst of South Africa’s abundant economy, 45% of the Black families live below the subsistence level. We call it 'below the breadline'." - Ernest Cole, House of Bondage
House of Bondage (1966) by Ernest ColePhotography Legacy Project
Grace Matjila, hungry and without proper clothes for school, tearfully tends to her little sister.
Ernest Cole archive : House of Bondage (1966)Photography Legacy Project
After breakfast of tea laced with sugar, Jane Mogale scrapes the pot of last night’s porridge, which may be her only food till evening.
Ernest Cole archive: South Africa (1966)Photography Legacy Project
Women hawking fruit are usually too old or too ill to work as domestics, and their profits from this are very small. Denied vendor’s rights they often have to pick up their wares and run to escape arrest.
Ernest Cole archive : House of Bondage (1966)Photography Legacy Project
With older children in school and mother’s at work, baby babyminders are a common sight on African township streets.
Ernest Cole archive: South Africa (1966)Photography Legacy Project
Low-paid Africans buy high-priced goods on time in White owned stores.
Ernest Cole archive: House of Bondage (1966)Photography Legacy Project
Moses Mogale does homework by candlelight. Township houses are not equipped with electricity.
Ernest Cole archive: House of Bondage (1966)Photography Legacy Project
There is one bed in the Mogale house. Daniel, Martha and their two youngest sleep in it; others sleep on the floor.
Ernest Cole's influential 1967 photobook, House of Bondage, captured the everyday hardship faced by Black South Africans during apartheid. A new edition of this pivotal book published by Aperture in 2022, preserves Cole's original writings and images, and includes contemporary perspectives on his life and lasting impact.
This digitization of Ernest Cole's archives, along with his first-person accounts, offers the opportunity to appreciate and comprehend the work of one of South Africa’s most significant photographers. This accessible digital collection makes his legacy available for educational purposes, academic study, and research, effectively integrating Cole's contributions into the global visual heritage.
Read more about Ernest Cole’s biography in the title story, Ernest Cole Archives: House of Bondage.
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