Documented over a period of five years, the bus stop signs in this series were found dotted around various areas of Cape Town. Attracted to the fading signage, Yudelman began exploring the routes commonly used by daily commuters to and from work and home - most of the passengers predominately residing in communities located on the outskirts of the city.

The signs, some of which have been part of the city and surrounding landscape since the 1960s, gradually vanished and were on occasion replaced with generic modern versions. Following the disappearing trail, he became aware and fascinated with how many of the illuminated names displayed on the front of Golden Arrow buses were mysterious destinations.

In merging the aged signs with delineated images of passengers, cityscapes and iconic landmarks, Yudelman considers the endurance inherent in systems, signage and citizen; the end points along which thousands of travelling hours and multitudes of deliberate separations linger - shadows from our not-so-distant history.

Invoking the power of materiality - he mirrors the journeys that continue as they did in South Africa’s deliberately divided past - echoing the ongoing segregations undefeated by updated signage, or even democracy.

The Role of Transport in South Africa

The bus industry in South Africa has for many years made a vital contribution to the economic and social development of the country. Bus services continue to provide mobility to millions of people dependent on public transport, for example: learners, workers and individuals who are seeking employment or access to hospitals and other public facilities. More than seventy percent of South Africa’s population relies on bus, commuter rail and taxis for its mobility needs. There are about 25,000 buses in use in South Africa of which about 19 000 are involved in formal public transport activities.

The South African passenger transportation system was by and large designed for moving labor to and from the workplace. This often involved transporting people from the fringes of urban centers into the cities, based on the racially segregated nature of minority rule. Furthermore, in time, transport became a site of popular struggle and a dramatic expression of tensions and disputes over control, management and affordability of racially divided spaces.

Nelson Mandela’s first political action was participation in a 1943 mass march supporting a bus boycott in Johannesburg’s Alexandra Township - the boycott effectively rolled back a fare increase.