Book 1 Photographs by Rodney Barnett

Rodney Barnett was born in 1943 in Johannesburg, South Africa. When he was twelve years old, he discovered photography after viewing an exhibition of the photographer Edward Steichen. Inspired by that exhibition, Barnett started to learn photography by himself. He perceived photography as a method to explore people through their body as well as their emotions and their interaction with the environment. In 1969, Barnett met and worked with the photographer W. Eugene Smith – a photojournalist renowned for his work that depicted human conditions – who he recognized as one of his leading influences. In fact, the work of Barnett illustrates a diversity of material, as his camera tracked his interests and his curiosity. It is a glimpse into the personal life of people he met during his various travels throughout the world in three decades: from the townships of South Africa to the streets of Turkey, from urban vista in United Kingdom to San people in Botswana, from rural life in Mexico to the slums in India. In 1976, Visual Books published his first book, Book 1, which includes photography produced in South Africa during the apartheid. Barnett’s work has been collected by the Photographers’ Gallery in London and has featured in numerous exhibitions. He died in 2000 leaving his remarkable legacy and contribution to the photographic world.