A Stone’s Throw comprises 65 silver gelatin photographs made on Robben Island, South Africa. In addition to the island’s proximity to Cape Town, the title refers to a history of political prisoners forced to quarry and crush stone and to the so-called ‘klipgooiers’ (‘stone throwers’), dissidents who were imprisoned on the island in 1976.

All images were made while facing south so that aspects of the island are framed against the constant backdrop of Table Mountain a few kilometres across Table Bay. They are arranged in groups of eight, each suggesting a notional day that begins with an exposure made soon after sunrise and progresses to one made shortly before dusk.

A Stone’s Throw was designed by Richy Lamb (Glasgow); it includes essays by Lionel Davis, artist, former political prisoner and Robben Island tour guide, and Cape Town-based art writer, Sean O’Toole.

Roger Palmer is an artist based in Glasgow. He has made several projects in South Africa, the first of which, Precious Metals, toured to the Third Eye Centre, Glasgow in 1987. Palmer’s work has been widely exhibited. He has published numerous artist’s books, the most recent being SPOOR (GOST, London, 2019).

Softcover, 29 x 24cm
144 pages