
Pilgrims, DIkgorong, Motouleng, Clarens
<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
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- 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.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Santu Mofokeng
Artist

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.
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More by Santu Mofokeng
Church of God, Motouleng Cave, Clarens
1996 · Gelatin silver print
Shebeen, Sewefontein
1989 · Gelatin silver print
Riding Staff, Johannesburg - Soweto Line
1986 · Gelatin silver print
Opening Song, Hand Clapping and Bells from the series Train Church
1986 · Gelatin silver print
Supplication, Johannesburg - Soweto Line
1986 · Gelatin silver print
Oupa Seki's Grand daughters, Bloemhof
Gelatin silver print
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Santu Mofokeng
- Year
- 1996
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- 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
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified





