Three Generations

This photograph was taken in Barrydale, just after the portrait of the Lollipop Woman. She had moved to sit with her family on the same wall: her daughter beside her, holding the youngest boy on her lap. To her left sat the middle child, relaxed and leaning into the group. Behind them stood the oldest grandson, the daughter’s eldest, watching over the scene with a quiet confidence.

It was an unposed moment of three generations sharing the same patch of afternoon light. The older woman at the centre carried the calm presence of someone who has lived a long, textured life; her daughter anchored the group with a protective steadiness; and the children brought a softness that balanced the frame.

Barrydale’s deep Khoi and San heritage runs through many families in the area, and that sense of rootedness was present here; a family connected by history, place and each other.