The Beautiful Struggle (Dokument Press, 2006)

“Style is a big thing in the township. If you look good you feel good. You forget about poverty and find pleasure in the things that you own. It has always been there. I think the warriors themselves had a competition about whose spear shined the most,” says Monwabizi Mfobo, one of those portrayed in the book. Swedish photographer Per Englund offers together with township dweller Mlamli Figlan a brand new image of South Africa. In The Beautiful Struggle, the reader will meet ordinary South African youths talking about their lives and dreams in the townships of Cape Town. Styles in fashion, dance and music are a way out of poverty. Tomorrow’s global subcultures are born in the big cities of the Third world. The pictures are full of attitude and self-confidence. But life is a struggle in a society in which the apartheid structure still is evident. Authors – Per Englund & Mlamli Figlan Publisher – Dokument Press Illustrations – 80 color and black and white photographs Pages – 144 Dimensions – 21 x 27 cm Binding – Hardcover Language – English (Swedish edition out of print) Book design – Tobias Barenthin-Lindblad & Per Englund Additional texts – Marika Griehsel and Karen Waltorp ISBN – 978-91-973981-5-2 Edition – 4000 copies Printed in Denmark, 2006