Alice Mann photobook bangs the drum for South African girls

Since 2017, Cape Town-born, London-based photographer Alice Mann has been documenting the distinctive subculture surrounding all-female teams of drum majorettes in South Africa, known as ‘drummies’. This is a sport that palpably empowers those involved, in a society where women must confront myriad obstacles. 

Via Kickstarter, Mann (who is also a Wallpaper* photographer) is now seeking support to compile this long-term project into a photobook – a compelling and intimate visual documentation of confidence, commitment and determination, and a stand against societal friction in South Africa. 

Mann shot the entire series on medium format film camera, which was not without its challenges. ‘The work to scan, retouch and organise everything was quite a task. I think at the end I had around 600 rolls of film,’ she says. ‘The administrative side of putting a body of work together is probably as important as the images, and it is a part of the process I place a lot of value on, but it is also not as enjoyable as making the images. I prefer the part where I can work and collaborate with people!’ 

The hardback book, designed by Stu Smith will feature a cloth-bound cover with foil blocking and will be published by Gost Books. Accompanying the images will be an essay by art historian, curator and writer Christine Eyene, whose research and curatorial practice focus on contemporary African and Diaspora arts, feminism and photography. 

Mann’s Drummies series of photographs previously scooped the Grand Prix du Jury and the Wallpaper* New Generation Prize at the 2019 Hyères International Festival of Fashion and Photography, the LensCulture Emerging Talent Award, and the National Portrait Gallery’s Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. But for Mann, being involved in Drummies was an accolade in itself. ‘Throughout the time I worked on this series, it was very important to me that the images were able to translate the confidence and pride of the young women involved in the teams, as well as their natural charisma and energy!’

INFORMATION

Drummies, a photobook, is available to pre-order via Kickstarter, and is scheduled to be printed in autumn 2021, kickstarter.com