Bicycle Portraits - A photographic book in the making

Bicycle Portraits - A photographic book in the making from Bicycle Portraits on Vimeo.

Stan Engelbrecht & Nic Grobler are publishing the best 165 portraits and stories of the over 500 portraits of cyclists they’ve photographed during their 2 year journey around South Africa. Divided over 3 books, each will contain a different 55 stories, and also two essays each by local South African and major international cycling figures. The books are designed by Gabrielle Guy (www.gabrielleguy.com) and they have also collaborated with celebrated South African artist Gabrielle Raaff (www.gabrielleraaff.com) to create an individual hand-painted watercolor map, based on Google Maps, to indicate the location of each of the portraits.

When they started the project, Bicycle Portraits aimed to be a study of South African commuter culture, and they wanted to find out who rides bicycles, why they ride bicycles, if and why they love their bicycles, and of course why so few South Africans choose bicycles as a transport option. But Bicycle Portraits has turned into a portrait of a nation through the bicycles that they own and ride every day - revealing all manner of social, class, historical and cultural nuances never imagined.

www.bicycleportraits.co.za/kickstarter
Music : 'Sohlala Siphila' (Staying Alive) by African Noise Foundation

Click here for individual Bicycle Portraits