From the preface text:

"'The camera doesn't lie.' This is a myth about photography that, in South Africa in the '80s, we won't swallow without questioning. In our country the camera lies all the time — on our TV screens, in our newspapers, and on the billboards that proliferate in our townships. Photography can't be divorced from the political, social, and economic issues that surround us daily. As photographers we are inextricably caught up in those processes — we are not objective instruments but play a part in the way we choose to make our statements. The photographers in this collection do not look at our country through the lens of the rulers. They show a South Africa in conflict, in suffering, in happiness and in resistance. They examine the present and beckon the viewer to an alternative future. There are 19 contributors in all, some of whom are well known photographers: David Goldblatt, Omar Badsha, Paul Alberts. Others are people who have been plugging away for years for community newspapers, or in and around various townships. For many it is a rare occasion for exposure. The photographs span the universal concepts upon which the social documentary genre exists. Themes like sadness, dignity, strength, privilege and power: these prevail. But the images go beyond this. They locate these themes in a divided, struggling South Africa. These South African photographers project a vision of the realities which they confront. The co-ordinators of this collection hoped that by seeing how other photographers work, and sharing ideas, we would achieve something valuable. We ended by recognising that collective efforts can say more than individual statements. That is essentially what this book is about."