After spending weeks capturing the movement of the sun to create artwork, a collection of solargraphs was unveiled at CHIMI on First Thursdays, bringing the Solargraph Series to its long-awaited finale.
The experimental photography project saw twelve artists swap cameras for something far more unexpected: repurposed Corona cans.
Transformed into working pinhole cameras, the cans were left to capture the slow movement of the sun over one to two weeks. The result? Dreamy, atmospheric photographs created not by a shutter or a digital lens, but by sunlight, time, and nature.
When the sun becomes the camera
The 'caneras' were left in recognisable locations in Cape Town, including Camps Bay, Green Point, Table Mountain, Chapman's Peak, and Woodstock. Some were also left in spots around Johannesburg.
The directive was to create a solargraph by facing your 'canera' north and creatively considering your foreground under the arcs of the sun. They only had one chance.
Once they set it up, they stepped away, and after that it was up to nature.
Roanna Williams, co-chief creative officer at partnering creative agency Boundless, said the pinhole camera is photography’s oldest tech, and creatives were each sent a box of 'caneras', where they set up in a space of their choosing.
"The result is beautiful. Each artwork is unique."
She said some had mixes of urban and nature, and some were set in complete nature. "It's all done with the simplest technique, and if people can take that and know they can naturally create beauty, that is amazing.
"Beautiful things happen when you let the sun in, and that's something people need to take to their everyday lives."
She said the cameras were made by removing the lid of the cans, placing a black draping inside, closing it up, and making a tiny little hole in it, and you leave it be as it captures the sun.
"It's all done with the simplest technique, and if people can take that and know they can naturally create beauty, that is amazing.
"Beautiful things happen when you let the sun in, and that's something people need to take to their everyday lives."
She said the cameras were made by removing the lid of the cans, placing a black draping inside, closing it up, and making a tiny little hole in it, and you leave it be as it captures the sun.
Fari Sanyika, a travel creator who was part of the project, said this was one of the most unique experiences. "When I received the can, and I read it was the camera, I was so confused - how was this thing going to create a photo?"
When she finally learnt how to set it up, she found herself waiting every day and was impressed at the result showcased at the exhibition. "It is so beautiful! It's amazing to see how the sun created a beautiful outline across all of our images.
"In a world where anyone can generate an image in seconds, this project forced us to create something that couldn't be rushed. That’s something people have lost touch with, and it’s wonderful to get a little retro.
Neo Mokuene said the process was literally about nature doing its thing. "How they came out was actually amazing! It's been an exercise of delayed gratification - just letting nature do its thing instead of controlling it.
In Johannesburg, the project saw a hero billboard in Fourways, Johannesburg, turned into a functioning pinhole camera, allowing it to capture what it sees every single day.
For 14 days, it followed the passage of the sun to create a single solargraph.