Billy Monk

William John Monk (died 31 July 1982) was a South African, known for his photographs of a Cape Town nightclub between 1967 and 1969, during apartheid. In 2012 a posthumous book was published, Billy Monk: Nightclub Photographs.

Early life Not much is known about the early life of Monk. Although he was born on January 11 it was never sure what year, and no one knew his exact age. He didn't like to speak about his childhood. His father was an alcoholic. His early occupations consisted of surviving in any manner he could, largely through petty crime. He was sent to jail for two years as a teenager for stealing a safe, and there learned to become a receptionist. He then moved on to smuggling—be it across the Transkei or poaching fish a photographer's assistant, a diamond diver, a sandal shop owner, the proprietor of a vegetarian restaurant, and finally, a bouncer and photographer. He used a Pentax camera, with a 35 mm focal-length lens, a small flash and Ilford FP4 film. His photographs show a variety of the underbelly of Cape Town life at the time—ranging from old men with young wives and gay couples, to midgets and mixed race relationships, he shows a side of life under apartheid that is rarely seen elsewhere.

His photographs reveal a variety of clientele. Some are sloppy, some are neat and put together. Many of the women are heavily made up with short dresses, and almost all the photographs are highly sexually charged. The photographs reveal much of what was not allowed under apartheid rule—specifically a variety of same sex and mixed race couples. David Goldblatt, Ernest Cole, and Billy Monk's South Africa in Apartheid and After, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA, 2012–2013. With David Goldblatt and Ernest Cole. Rise and Fall of Apartheid, International Center of Photography, New York, 2012.

Posthumous publications Publications by Monk Billy Monk: Nightclub Photographs. Stockport, Cheshire: Dewi Lewis, 2012. . With a foreword by David Goldblatt.

Publications with contributions by Monk Anthology of African and Indian Ocean Photography. Revue Noire, 1999. Edited by Jean Loup Pivin and Pascal Martin Saint Leon. English ; French ; Portuguese .

Posthumous awards Billy Monk was one of three shortlisted for the Kraszna-Krausz Book Awards, UK, 2013

Collections Monk's work is held in the following permanent collections: Johannesburg Art Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa