Ed van der Elsken

"Dear, naïve Africans. Serious and sweet. I'm terribly proud of the picture at the right. It's just about perfect. (...) The youngsters at the right are Zulus, in Durban, South Africa. Brother and sister, not man and wife. We exchanged a few words in English. They were all dressed up in their best clothes - the girl in anklets, bracelets, necklaces, beaded corselet, ribbons in her braided hair, flaming orange sweater, enormous breasts, two or three capes; the boy just as colourful in his own way, with his riding breeches, carved walking-stick, fancy sweater and scarf, satin-faced jacket, broad brimmed hat. They were unbelievably relaxed and straightforward - knockouts, both of them." From: Ed van der Elsken, 'Sweet Life', Amsterdam, De Bezige Bij, 1966 / Ed van der Elsken, 'Sweet Life', New York, Errata Editions, 2012