news
Origins: Graeme Lottering
Origins is Torontoist’s new video feature, which aims to tell the stories of Torontonians with roots both here and elsewhere.
Graeme Lottering was born in South Africa in 1980, at the height of apartheid. His family moved to Namibia when he was six years old to live with an Ndebele tribe at the edge of the Kalahari Desert. It was during that time that Graeme picked up an interest in language, which followed him to Canada when his family immigrated to Toronto in 1990. While he has learned multiple languages, Graeme has also made up his own, inspired by his walks around the city and the “locates” he’s seen drawn on sidewalks by construction workers mapping out the city’s underbelly. “Basically when you understand what the locates mean it’s like you have x-ray vision and you can see straight through beneath the surface of the streets,” said Graeme.
He is self-publishing his first book, 98% Grey, later this month.
Know someone whose origins we should feature? Email [email protected].
