Modern society experiences the world predominantly through their eyes and the recognition of vision‘s unique power has led to the development of many new forms of visual communication. Photojournalism is a relatively 'young' form of visual communication; however, photojournalists appreciate that a single iconic image may convey a common understanding of an entire event. It is the aim of the paper to review how the appropriation of an iconic image may suggest original associations, particularly within a South African context.