Pilgrims, DIkgorong, Motouleng, Clarens

Pilgrims, DIkgorong, Motouleng, Clarens

Santu MofokengWW-1996-028476
1996·Gelatin silver print·57.3 × 38.2 cm (22 9/16 × 15 1/16 in.); Sheet: 60.8 × 51 cm (23 15/16 × 20 1/8 in.)

<p>Beginning in 1996 Santu Mofokeng traveled repeatedly to the central South African town of Clarens to observe worshippers from various religions who had trekked to nearby caves to pay homage to their ancestors. In his words:</p> <p>Photographing in the Motouleng and Mautse Caves steered me to places where reality blends freely with unreality, where my knowledge of [photography] was tested to the limit. While the images record rituals, fetishes and settings, I am not certain that I was able to capture on film the essence of the consciousness I saw. Perhaps I was looking for something that refuses to be photographed. Perhaps, I was only chasing shadows.</p>

Catalogue

Year
1996
Dimensions
57.3 × 38.2 cm (22 9/16 × 15 1/16 in.); Sheet: 60.8 × 51 cm (23 15/16 × 20 1/8 in.)

Artist

Santu Mofokeng
Santu Mofokeng

Photography

Santu Mofokeng was a South African photographer whose work documented the social and political landscape of apartheid-era South Africa and its aftermath. Working primarily in black and white, he created sustained bodies of work that examined township life, migration, and the texture of everyday experience under structural violence. His photographs are characterized by formal precision and an unflinching attention to human dignity within constrained circumstances. Mofokeng's practice bridged documentary photography and fine art, establishing him as a central figure in contemporary South African visual culture.

Johannesburg, South Africa

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Record

Verified by WattsOS
Year
1996
Dimensions
57.3 × 38.2 cm (22 9/16 × 15 1/16 in.); Sheet: 60.8 × 51 cm (23 15/16 × 20 1/8 in.)
Watts ID
WW-1996-028476

Source

Source
aic
Status
verified

Artist

Santu Mofokeng

Santu Mofokeng

Photography

View artist profile →