Down to earth and unassuming, with an astonishing past in the glittering world of fashion behind her, South African creative Josie Borain has completely reforged her path in life.
After growing up in Johannesburg she became THE Calvin Klein model in the 80s and early 90s. Her lean, bronzed androgynous look shaped an entire generation in magazine covers around the world.
She worked with some of the greatest photographers in the fashion industry at the time, such as Gilles Bensimon and Pierre Houles, and in the time honoured tradition of model turned photographer/creative director (such as Lee Miller, Grace Coddington, Helena Christiansen and Peter Hurley) she began to turn the camera away from herself towards the world around her.
Turned the camera towards the world
She started taking behind-the-scenes black and white shots of fellow supermodels Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell. Her candid shots were a realistic insight into the rise of the supermodel and a testament to their glamour.
Her hobby eventually led to a career as a photographer and an accomplished artist in her own right and she launched her book “Josie You and Me” in 2003.
She says her father bought land on the Duiwenshoks river in Vermaaklikheid in the 80s and for decades the family used to go there for holidays. Twenty years ago her father relocated there permanently and rented out holiday cottages for people who wanted to get away from it all.
After the nightmare of Covid and lockdown she decided to close up her home in Cape Town, move to be closer to her dad and spend his last few years with him.
Growing up she remembered a bakery in the town where people used to line up outside to wait for their bread. She suggested to the owner that they get a coffee machine and actually went and bought one. When she brought it into the bakery she found it had closed. So she thought to herself “Let’s open a shop”, and rented a space in the town called Alma Cafe. She doesn’t pride herself on her coffee making but says her suppliers from DeLuxe Coffeeworks have taught her some basic skills,
“I have a shopping problem and I’m a hoarder so all my stuff went into the shop,’’ she admits.
“If you go out on a dirt road you meet some interesting humans,” she says.
“I’m a people’s person and there’s an interesting bunch who come into my shop.”
She opened an Instagram account and entertained herself by taking pictures of what was around her.
Pristine landscapes
Her new home deep in the heart of the Garden Route looks like she has stepped off the edge of the world into a tucked away universe of pristine landscapes and empty dirt roads that stretch forever, a land that is forgotten by all except those who live there.
She has been a photographer for a long time now but hasn’t felt inspired. In fact she hadn’t picked up a camera in a decade. So when a friend’s daughter who is a model wanted to do a shoot she invited her down to her home.
The weather wasn’t great but it turned out well as there weren’t any shadows, she says. It was a great symbiotic relationship.
Art residency nearby
She also goes out to a nearby art residency at Bodhi Khaya where artists from different disciplines come to work.
“I am lucky to have found my niche,” she says.” I love all kinds of cameras but am not a great fan of digital. Film is very expensive but I love it. I think you get a better picture when you have to spend more time looking at it and deciding how to frame it and you have to do that with film as there is a limited amount of frames unlike digital.”
Not everyone can be an artist like Josie even though when you take endless pictures on your phone one picture might turn out well.
A helping hand
Her village is very small and it feels like it has fallen off the map. The kids get picked up at 6.30am in the bus and drive 40km to school every morning. They have absolutely no access to internet and no way to learn about the modern world so a friend of hers decided to open a computer room. They were gifted computers and now there are 12 kids doing different projects. This will help the kids create a future for themselves as so many drop out of school to go to work and there is high alcohol abuse in their backgrounds.
She says she doesn’t know how to fundraise so she started a Go Fund Me. She was delighted with all the money that was coming in but chuckles that it was her son in America who was sending her dollars.
“I don’t know if this will be my forever home,” she says, “it’s very isolated and I don’t think that is healthy.
“I have a great social structure in Cape Town but will always have the house and use it for holiday visits. I have always been physically fit and don’t like walking along the same road every day. I don’t do monotony”.
Far from her life being monotonous she is doing astonishing work and changing lives for the better. Can’t wait for the next chapter!
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