Blind Vendor, District 6, Cape Town

... a 1967 lino print by the South African artist Norman Kaplan, who prints and burnishes by hand, without the benefit of a press. In his commentary on the print, he says,

"There was little social provision for the disabled, who had to survive as best they could, as beggars or street vendors.

"I have always tried to draw identifiable figures, to bring out something of the character of each subject, whatever the situation".

This was part of an exhibition put on by the Gloucestershire Printmaking Cooperative, at their base at Griffin Mill, Thrupp, near Stroud. The images are as stark and powerful as ever. I remember seeing some of them used by Amnesty International in their campaigns in the late 1980s, when Apartheid was at the top of the agenda.

I chatted to two different 'curators' of the exhibition, about South Africa, printmaking, and blipfoto. It was difficult to get a shot without the glare of reflected light, but I wanted to use this as my blip because the image is important to me. I have abandoned the constraints of the Square September challenge, just for today.

Later, my friend and I left the exhibition and went into the adjacent art shop. There I overheard a remark that went something like this,

"There's an exhibition next door about Apartheid. I don't know why they're still on about it, I mean it's not on any more...."

Sometimes words are not enough.