ALL THE LIGHT WE NEED TO SEE

Photographer Lee-Roy Jason focuses on pressing contemporary issues — but also wants to show us hope and beauty

Lee-Roy Jason is a South African photographer and an avid traveller, with an instinct for visually telling and documenting South African stories. Known for family portraits, in his latest work he looks at issues such as gender abuse, transgender stories, children, #FeesMustFall and religion. His exhibition Freedom of Expression showcases visual and performance-art pieces. The picture above is entitled ‘War On Women Must Fall’. Tell us about your latest work. It’s work that I’ve shot for the past three years. I’ve been conveying a series titled Everything Must Fall, a seven-day work capturing my own series of work and looking at the power of a hashtag, which was once considered the tic-tac-toe symbol; now it’s a symbol of uniting people. Is it your intention to make a beautiful image out of a harsh topic? It depends on the idea of what beauty is. I used to go into the most fuckedup places and shoot the fashion in that place and find beauty in that by reshaping it using photography. I see signs of hope, progression, positivity which are brought through the images. You were the Sowetan newspaper’s youngest photographer. If you could give your 16-year-old self advice, what would it be? To go beyond Braamfontein and go beyond your comfort zone. If you were God, what would you change about the issues you portray in your work? If I were God, I would change the constitution to reflect today’s struggle — issues such as transgender, fees and President Jacob Zuma. If love is unconditional why not give it, no matter the gender, race or size of the person. When people ask what you do for a living, what do you say? I’m a commercial photographer, but family portraits are my passion. What is the most common interpretation of your work? One common thing I’ve heard is that my work is layered. It’s easy to identify and tackles many issues and it’s many layers of these hashtags. A photographer you’d like to share exhibition space with? My father Fanie Jason, who is a photojournalist. That would be an achievement. How did you get into photography? I used to take my dad’s images growing up and I would look at the beauty in them. Lighting is a crucial part of an image and turns something harsh into something beautiful. Freedom of Expression runs until July 30 at Constitution Hill in Joburg