Gelatin Silver print by Paul Alberts. – Paul Alberts

This photograph was published in Albert’s book ‘Some Evidence of Things Seen’, 1997. The book was published as a charitable endeavour, in order to raise awareness of the plight of children in South Africa. “The location was Wag-‘n-Bietjie near Pretoria. The occasion was a leadership conference of the militant ultra-rightwing leader, Eugene Terreblanche’s Afrikaner – Weerstand – Beweging (AWB). The time was 1986 when Terreblanche’s popularity was growing. I watched this little boy disappearing behind the trees and shrubs to urinate and when he came back I started photographing him. He was an attractive boy with a lovely smile, but he stopped and looked at me with some trepidation. He also looked beyond me, with great uncertainty on his face. Suddenly a man’s voice spoke to him from behind my back: “Groet die Oom my seun” (Greet the uncle my son). It was his father speaking. The little boy then stood on guard, swiftly raised his right arm in the AWB salute and grinned.” Ref: Some Evidence of Things Seen by Paul Alberts.

Date Published: 1997

Dimensions: 35 x 45cm