Santu Mofokeng exhibition

'One of the most important photographers of his generation’ - Simon Njami

‘It is right and about time that Santu Mofokeng’s work is given the recognition and exposure that I believe it deserves’ – David Goldblatt

Santu Mofokeng produces photographs that refuse to be overtly political, but nonetheless contain a fundamental political dimension. He seeks a broader story about black life in which people are portrayed as more than just urban activists locked into violence.

His landscapes are spaces invested with public memory and spirituality, and he investigates them in relation to ownership, ecological impact and power. His Bloemhof Portfolio tells of the lives of rural tenant farmers, and he continues to photograph industrial sites around the world, such as opencast mines, and dams. Chasing Shadows is a documentation of religious ceremonies in caves, public parks or urban waste ground. It includes photographs taken at the Motouleng Caves in the Free State, some of which feature his brother Ishmael shortly before his death from Aids.

At a time when there was a public debate in South Africa about the fate of sites such as Robben Island, Mofokeng’s interest in places invested with meaning led him to investigate his and other countries’ monuments and sites of public memory. He travelled to British concentration camp sites in South Africa, to Namibia where the Herero were nearly wiped out under German colonialists, to Ravensbruck, Auschwitz, Nagasaki, Hanoi and other sites of atrocity.

23.12.08 - 05.01.09 Christmas Closure
Rivington Place will be closed from Tues 23rd December 2008, reopening on Monday 5th January 2009. We look forward to welcoming you in the New Year.

14.01.09 - 28.02.09 Santu Mofokeng
Autograph ABP in association with IZIKO, South Africa National Gallery presents his first solo exhibition in the UK.

17.01.09 3:00-4:00pm Gallery Tour with Santu Mofokeng
South African photographer Santu Mofokeng discusses his work, concepts and photography.

22.01.09 6.30-7.30pm Gallery Tour of Santu Mofokeng exhibition
Tour with George Shire, Zimbabwean political analyst and cultural critic.

29.01.09 6.30-7.30pm Gallery Tour of Santu Mofokeng exhibition
Photographer Admas Habteslasie will give a gallery tour.

14.02.09 3:00-4:00pm Gallery Tour of Santu Mofokeng exhibition
Photographer Vanley Burke will give a gallery tour.

21.02.09 3:00-4:00pm Gallery Tour of Santu Mofokeng exhibition
Tour with Autograph ABP Senior Curator David A Bailey.

26.02.09 6.30-7.30pm Gallery Tour of Santu Mofokeng exhibition
Tour with Autograph ABP curator Indra Khanna.

Other Events

05.02.09 5pm until late South African Evening
Café Lati Ri presents South African music, food, drink and film 28.02.09 -

28.02.09 Source Photographic Magazine Publications Opportunity
Hosted by Autograph ABP

For more information and full events programme please visit www.rivingtonplace.orgOther events, exhibitions and news items

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Rotimi Fani-Kayode (1955-1989): Photographs
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In partnership with the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute

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