Alastair Findlay grew up in Pretoria and studied Fine art at the University of Cape Town in the 1980s . His love of drawing led him to work in different mediums, including painting, drawing, and sculpting. He earned a reputation making satirical cartoons but his need to return to fine art has led him to create uniquely South African sketchings and watercolours - a project that began in 2021 at The Lillian Road Studios in Johannesburg near the Oriental Plaza.

These simple scenes of the ordinary people in Fordsburg, Mayfair, Newtown, and the surrounding areas show a fresh and previously unexplored view of the multicultural life of people who have grown up, gone to the schools in this area, pray at the local mosque, and eat at the restaurant below his studio - a restaurant where a woman sings as she prepares onions for the dinner time rush amidst the squawking of the pigeons, a familiar feature of the area along Albertina Sisulu Road.

He states this inspiration came from the ordinary act of sitting in one spot and simply observing what was happening around him - “One sees things differently than when driving by in a car or rushing along”. This sense of wonder comes through in his imagery, which has changed from street scenes to a combination of the muscular dry African natural landscape, with the structure of the city behind. His perception of beauty in both the African and the ordinary.

“I like to just draw the world and represent it the way I see it it’s no longer just a job”. So whilst he didn’t really know the area and was not familiar with these urban environments, he decided simply to go out and explore.

He began sitting on the street corners and just taking in the environment around him. “I cannot tell you what an incredible experience it has been sitting on the streets,” he said. Over the past months, he has met many diverse people, from those sleeping rough and the busy folk going about their jobs, all of whom have been appreciative of his art. This has contributed to making him feel part of a big community, especially after being invited for tea by the local imam, and has made him feel truly accepted and at home.

This newfound sense of community formed the basis for his recent exhibition held in May 2023, when he presented a previously unseen or painted view of a Pakistani-South African Fordsberg community. The joy he has in exploring and discovering unique architectural gems, such as the old Muslim school seen as one turns the corner into Mint Road coming through the underpass – a favourite and one he regards as the best building in Fordsburg. He recounts his surprise at seeing the exotic garden at the Oriental Plaza, situated in an otherwise built-up urban area, and breathing in the smell of wet streets and damp newspaper at The Avalon Theatre, which captured the historic atmosphere of a rainy day under a stoep overhang.

Images below with permission from Alistair Findlay. The artist’s opinions are their own. Audio edits by Dan Dewes. “East West Village” by Tim Garland & Asaf Sirkis.