Wake up, this is Joburg

Photographed by Mark Lewis

Joburg viewed from Village Main mine dump.

Joburg viewed from Village Main mine dump.

Informal butchers ply their trade chopping cow heads in Kazerne, an abandoned parking garage in the inner city. The meat is then cooked on fires and sold at taxi ranks all around the city. The dish is called S’kop, ‘the head’.

Informal butchers ply their trade chopping cow heads in Kazerne, an abandoned parking garage in the inner city. The meat is then cooked on fires and sold at taxi ranks all around the city. The dish is called S’kop, ‘the head’.

Tony Martins house in Rosettenville. Tony is a collector and hoarder of all things from cars to lamp shades, paintings, mannikins, clocks, anything that can be restored, remodelled or repurposed.

Tony Martins house in Rosettenville. Tony is a collector and hoarder of all things from cars to lamp shades, paintings, mannikins, clocks, anything that can be restored, remodelled or repurposed.

A Nigerian hairdressing salon in Yeoville Market. A Pan African market, catering to a diverse neighbourhood of immigrants.

A Nigerian hairdressing salon in Yeoville Market. A Pan African market, catering to a diverse neighbourhood of immigrants.

Zola binding point, where, every morning 600 taxi drivers wait for the late-afternoon peak hour to transport people back to Soweto. Here Izilda Nzopene’s kitchen stall caters to the breakfast needs of the taxi drivers.

Zola binding point, where, every morning 600 taxi drivers wait for the late-afternoon peak hour to transport people back to Soweto. Here Izilda Nzopene’s kitchen stall caters to the breakfast needs of the taxi drivers.

Anstey’s Building was built in 1936 and is the most extraordinary example of art deco in the city. It now hosts a diverse community of artists, muscians, long time residents, families and professionals.

Anstey’s Building was built in 1936 and is the most extraordinary example of art deco in the city. It now hosts a diverse community of artists, muscians, long time residents, families and professionals.

Lucas Ngwenya hauls his 265kg load of reclaimed waste to the recycling depot in the inner city. He collects waste from different parts of the city, sometimes walking over 30km in a day. At the depot he will receive the going rate for cardboard, plas

Lucas Ngwenya hauls his 265kg load of reclaimed waste to the recycling depot in the inner city. He collects waste from different parts of the city, sometimes walking over 30km in a day. At the depot he will receive the going rate for cardboard, plastic, metal, tin and glass.

Beaconsfield Flat, Hillbrow. Birthial Gxaleka runs an NGO and shelter in her one bedroom apartment which she shares with her 34 tenants and their belongings. The water source is a fire hose that snakes into the building from the drain on the sidewal

Beaconsfield Flat, Hillbrow. Birthial Gxaleka runs an NGO and shelter in her one bedroom apartment which she shares with her 34 tenants and their belongings. The water source is a fire hose that snakes into the building from the drain on the sidewalk.

Beaconsfield Flat, Hillbrow.

Beaconsfield Flat, Hillbrow.

Harshad Bhikha holding an image of Master Mansions built by his father in 1941. The Mabro hat factory was started in the building and was the first hat factory in Johannesburg. The building also housed the first Hindu temple on the roof.

Harshad Bhikha holding an image of Master Mansions built by his father in 1941. The Mabro hat factory was started in the building and was the first hat factory in Johannesburg. The building also housed the first Hindu temple on the roof.

Ethiopian restaurant looking over Jeppe st in the heart of the inner city.

Ethiopian restaurant looking over Jeppe st in the heart of the inner city.

Nandos, an informal miner also known locally as Zama Zamas recently arrived from Mozambique, photographed at the original site where gold was discovered in 1886 in Johannesburg.

Nandos, an informal miner also known locally as Zama Zamas recently arrived from Mozambique, photographed at the original site where gold was discovered in 1886 in Johannesburg.

Mark Lewis is an urban photographer based in Johannesburg. For the past 12 years he has traversed the dense inner core and the constantly shifting edges of the City of Johannesburg. His images are an interplay between people and space. At root they are tales of lives carved in the search for economic opportunity and the stories of the impacts of those lives on the spatial fabric of the city. His work has been widely exhibited and published, his body of work from the books Wake Up, This is Joburg with writer and urban planner Tanya Zack formed part of the South African pavilion on the 2015 Venice Biennale. In January 2023 Duke University press published Wake Up, This is Joburg, in one volume.