In ‘Landsman’ renowned photographer, Marc Shoul, has embarked on a photographic study of Jewish community in Johannesburg that, while steeped in tradition, finds itself negotiating the vagaries and flux of life in contemporary South Africa. Landsman (Yiddish, meaning someone from your same town; a fellow Jew). The photographs capture the everyday experience of that community through portraiture, textures and interiors.
The genesis of Shoul’s Landsman series was inspired by his wife’s conversion to Judaism. In sharing this process with her, Shoul came to see his community from the perspective of an outsider.
In Landsman, Shoul’s explores this new perspective. His pictures hinting at the near-invisible tensions within this self-contained, and at times insular community. The images that form part of this body of work are in part a study of acceptance and exclusion. While some carry greater resonances, they do not engage directly with political complexities or current affairs. There is something of the claustrophobia and compassion of the family in the series; of a tension between filial duty and rebellion; of bewilderment and pleasure at its strictures. This is the domain of the personal: of exceptionally ordinary spaces, and clothing, and symbols that have seeped into and come to define Johannesburg Jewish life.
About Marc Shoul
Shoul’s documentary and portraiture photography has been widely featured in international and local exhibitions and publications. Including, The South African National Gallery, Musee Pierre Noel, and the Pretoria Art Museum. His latest series of work, Landsman premiers at The South African Jewish Museum from the 29th January until March 2018.
WHERE: South African Jewish Museum, 88 Hatfield St, Gardens, Cape Town 8001
The museum includes a museum gift shop and a kosher restaurant
The SAJM hosts approximately 20 000 visitors per year. It has been awarded a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence award for the past three years and is currently ranked among the Top 20 museums in Africa.
INFO: Gavin Morris gavin@sajewishmuseum.co.za T +27 21 4651546
