From the foreword:

"PhotoSynthesis' is the third major national project that has originated at the SANG. In 1990 sixteen eminent photographers were invited to submit project proposals of their own choice. An amount of R8 000,00 was allocated for a single commission, but the submissions were of such an excellent and interesting nature that R40 000,00 was raised from the Foundation for the Creative Arts (FCA) to add another five projects. The FCA also sponsored the catalogue of the exhibition Through a Lens Darkly which opened on 26 August 1995; all the works entered the SANG Permanent Collection. For People's Portraits, which was organised in collaboration with the Mail & Guardian, nine thousand entry forms were distributed. All South Africans who have an interest in photography were invited to participate and a selection was made for the exhibition which opened in September 1995, toured nationally, and is scheduled to be shown at the 1997 Edinburgh Festival.