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Kirby visually references the coin in each of his photographs with the addition of hazy, colourful overlays placed on his black and white images. These features distinguish Kirby’s style from other documentary works, adding an extra layer of synaesthetic symbolism to his photographs. He explains, “In my work, I often embellish my images with lines, marks, and colouring to disrupt the conventional perspective associated with the medium and subject matter, and in a nuanced way, I convey a deeper meaning in the imagery.” The coloured discs that appear as silhouettes over the subjects directly reference the Krugerrand, which Kirby contends is “a potent symbol of the apartheid era, as well as ownership and wealth today.” The other coloured embellishments were influenced by “distressed old images, colour-tinged and watermarked, to create a timeline aesthetic from the apartheid era to the present.”
Continued, next photograph