Gille de Vlieg

Gille de Vlieg was born in England on July 26, 1940, and moved to South Africa with her mother at the age of three. As a young woman, she trained as a nurse and worked in Pietermaritzburg and London. In 1982, Gille moved to Johannesburg, where she joined the Black Sash organisation and later became involved with the Transvaal Rural Action Committee (TRAC).

In 1983, Gille began to explore photography, documenting topics around forced removals, township life, gender roles, and the United Democratic Front (UDF). In 1984, she joined the Afrapix photography collective, a group renowned for using their photography as a tool against the apartheid regime. Gille noted that she wanted her work to show an alternate view of South Africa, one that was not presented by the mainstream media, such as the television shows of the day. Regretfully, she didn't get much public recognition for her work in the 1990s. But in more recent times, her images have come to light and are now frequently utilised by scholars as vivid depictions of the apartheid era.

Gille's photographs are featured in several collections, including the SAHA Original Photograph Collection (AL2547). In September 2009, she held a solo exhibition titled Rising Up Together at the Durban Art Gallery. Her work continues to be published both locally and internationally, reflecting her enduring impact as a photographer.