Not the Usual Suspects, a survey of the Market Photo Workshop (MPW), recently opened at the Iziko South African National Gallery, and runs until 21 April 2019.
The exhibition, a tribute to the Market Photo Workshop showcases more than 100 artworks by more than thirty artists. Curated by Iziko Curator and MPW graduate, Ingrid Masondo, this collaborative project brings together the histories and archives of the MPW in dialogue with the private archives and memories of “alumni”.
Featuring an intergenerational group of practitioners who have contributed to the MPW’s vibrancy and evolution since its inception to the current – these include learners, trainers, mentors, project managers and ‘staff’ – the exhibition interrogates issues of access and visibility. Engaging head-on with the politics and ethics of representation, the exhibition also seeks to expand on the roles and uses of photography in society.
The exhibition is designed to encourage a dialogue between the Market Photo Workshop’s archives and public histories, the experiences and memories of “alumni”, while posing questions such as: what is and who is included in the public sphere, in the South African Curriculum and Art History? The works represented run a wide gamut of human experiences, ranging from the intimate to public, the playful and the deadly serious. Through these works and reflections, complex debates about community and nation, race and class, patriarchy, the environment, technology, migration, the urban condition, are examined.
Broadly, the exhibition, Not the Usual Suspects broadens the MPW archive and is a timely and critical intervention on contemporary debates about education and the curriculum, histories and archives.
Not the Usual Suspects – Participating Artists
Nina Bekink, Jody Brand, Keran Elah, Shannon Ferguson, Goldendean, Nidaa Husain, Jenny Gordon, Davina Jogi, Zaituna Euridice Kala, Simangele Kalisa, Akona Kenqu, Lebohang Kganye, Gulshan Khan, Phumzile Khanyile, Michelle Loukidis, Lerato Maduna, Dahlia Maubane, Tshepiso Mazibuko, Bongiwe Mchunu, Keorapetse Mosimane, Ruth Motau, Rosetta Msimango, Kresiah Mukwazhi, Lauren Mulligan, Monique Pelser, Cora Portais, Jo Ractliffe, Claire Rousell, Vathiswa Ruselo, Remofiloe Sebobe, Sally Shorkend, Samantha Simons, Lebogang Tlhako, Zimbabwean Association of Female Photographers (ZAFP).
WHAT & WHEN: Not the Usual Suspects, daily from 09:00 until 17:00, until April 2019.
WHERE: Iziko South African National Gallery, Government Ave, Company’s Gardens, Cape Town 8001
PHOTO: M Burger
