Jodi Windvogel: Life Under Occupation – Cissie Gool House

Displacement, urban renewal and unfair environmental conditions: the occupation of Cissie Gool House in Cape Town in 2017 was an act of resistance against a system that pushes marginalised groups to the periphery. In her project, the photographer examined in 2024 and 2025 how communities reclaim urban spaces and, taking everyday life as an example, highlights the deep relationship between people and their surroundings.

She was known as “Jeanne of Arc” or the “Jewel of District Six” – the South African population honour the anti-Apartheid politician, Zainunnisa ‘Cissie’ Gool, founder of the National Liberation League, who, up until her death in 1963, worked tirelessly for the poor. When „Reclaim the City“ activists occupied the abandoned Woodstock Hospital in Cape Town in 2017, they not only revived neglected spaces, but also her name, her person and her fight for justice.

The Cissie Gool House is a place of resistance, an answer to the housing crisis in Cape Town, and a refuge for almost 2000 people. “Cissie Gool House is deeply personal to me, both geographically and emotionally,” the photographer explains. “Its story is tied to the history of the Coloured community in Cape Town, which is also my own. Documenting this community through photography felt like a natural extension of my relationship with the space.”

Jodi Windvogel spent a year visiting and listening to the residents of the building; she took part in meetings and protests before even taking the first photograph. Her respectful and intimate approach fostered trust, which gave room for the vulnerability and space to create honest stories. Her images show residents in quiet, personal moments: portraits in their rooms; daily routines; and the way in which they adapt to the surroundings and take care of each other. “I wanted to show that alternative ways of living in the city are not only possible but already happening,” Windvogel explains. “Cissie Gool House is home to people who have been pushed to the margins, yet they’ve built a vibrant, organised community in central Cape Town. Through this work, I aimed to highlight their resilience, their right to the city, and the everyday beauty and dignity of their lives.”

The saying “Land for people, not for profit” adorns a wall in the entrance hall of the Cissie Gool House. And this is how the people conquered their new land: in an ambiance-lacking infrastructure, often without running water, they share communal meal times, a library, games for the children, and film evenings. The hallways are full of life, and the photographer captures this life in rich colours and with emotional stylistic devices, using soft, natural light and reflections. With her photographic approach, her images convey a different picture of poverty, one that does not pity people but respects them. The series Life Under Occupation challenges the discourse on housing and urban planning, telling of a radical, citizen-centred alternative based on dignity, solidarity and care. Above all, however, it reminds us that housing is a human right.

Jodi Windvogel’s series was submitted by Fiona Wachera, who is among this year’s group of international LOBA nominators.