Two minutes walk from Park station, the metro of Johannesburg, where countless amount of people pass everyday you find a grey building, with giant orange letters on, saying MOTH. And even though its highly visible from the outside, most of the hundreds of day passers never heard of it, or know that it’s a shelter for over 400 people inside.
About the author:
Fredrik Lerneryd is a Swedish photographer born in 1986. Between 2013-2015 he studies at the Nordic School of photography, and worked for the swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. In 2015 he lived in Johannesburg and worked on the South African paper Mail & Guardian and personal project, among them Moth Building. He has exhibited his work at Visby Art museum and Gallery Contrast in Stockholm, and received Editors’ pick at LensCulture and Award of excellence at CPOY.org
Two minutes walk from Park station, the metro of Johannesburg, where countless amount of people pass everyday you find a grey building, with giant orange letters on, saying MOTH. And even thou its highly visible from the outside, most of the hundreds of day passers never heard of it, or know that it’s a shelter for over 400 people inside. Johannesburg 2015
Magdalena Gadende wants to be a model and a dancer when she grows up. Johannesburg 2015
Dineo Mokgwetsi, a single mother, with a five year old daughter. Like many other here, she dont have job, and her opportunities is very limited. She canät even afford to send her daughter, Dineo to school. Johannesburg 2015
Many of the over 400 resident that lives in here don’t have their own room. Instead they use curtain as walls. Johannesburg 2015
Some of the Moth children playing on the balcony, they skipping rope and singing songs. One of the songs goes “The cockroach is in my house, the cockroach is in my house!”. Johannesburg 2015
A view from inside the Moth Building in Johannesburg, 2015
Sheila and Magdalena Gadende, a mother and daughter from Zimbabwe, on their way to Magdalenas school, Johannesburg 2015
The place is very crowded, and theres not much room and space. Some of the residents sleep in bunkbeds, other on old mattresses, like Rianda Ethel. Johannesburg 2015
Kinalima and his friends is playing cards in the main hall in Moth. They stand here, because its one of the few places where the light is good. Most of Moth lack elecraicity from time to time. Johannesburg 2015
Busi is washing her children in one of the shower booth in the building. There is just cold water, and many of the toilets in the room don’t work, so the place stinks of human feces. Johannesburg 2015
Ntokozo smoking a cigarette, trying to keep his head straight. In the back, two of hos friends are passed out. The weekends in Moth Building is filled with heavy drinking, and music playing from friday morning til’ monday. Johannesburg 2015
