Reference Book (Work in Progress)

Mr and Mrs Komani (work in progress) - A collaborative effort between stalwart South African human rights activist Zackie Achmat and myself, ‘Mr and Mrs Komani’ represents a comic book translation of a chapter from Achmat’s documentary film ‘Law and Freedom’. The story deals with how the reference book (also known as the “Dompas” system) came to be abolished in South Africa and documents the Komani’s struggle to stay together during Apartheid as a result of the Group Areas Act. The love story will take the form of an actual passbook based on previous research and photographs of surviving passbooks I managed to find a few years back. The comic also documents conversations between Achmat and myself and the complexities of documenting, remembering and understanding as a result.