Phumzile Khanyile
Phumzile Khanyile (born 1991) is a South African photographer, living in Johannesburg.[1][2] Her series Plastic Crowns is about women's lives and sexual politics.[3] The series has been shown in group exhibitions at the Palace of the Dukes of Cadaval in Evora, Portugal; Iziko South African National Gallery in Cape Town; and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia; and was a winner of the CAP Prize for Contemporary African Photography,
Early life and education
Khanyile was born in Tladi, Soweto, South Africa.[4] She studied photography at the Market Photo Workshop from 2013.[5]
Life and work
Plastic Crowns is a series of self-portraits while dressed in her grandmother's clothes, with whom she lives.[6] The series is concerned with the female experience of relations between the sexes, in terms of power. It is "an exploration of shame, and an unpacking of the expectations Khanyile inherited from her grandmother about what it means to be a woman"[7]—"stereotypical ideas of gender, sexual preference and related stigmas and their relevance in contemporary society".[8] It employs a snapshot aesthetic,[9][10] "as if they're from a private journal",[3] "raw and out-of-focus [. . . ] as much from the family album snapshot as the rough urban glamour of postwar Japanese photography".[11] Plastic Crowns came about through Khanyile spending a lot of time indoors, having been too "scared to leave her house since she was attacked on the streets."[6]
Khanyile and Nkosinathi Khumalo direct the Johannesburg project space Zulu Republik.[11]
Publications
Publications by Khanyile
- Plastic Crowns. Johannesburg: Market Photo Workshop.
Publications with contributions by Khanyile
- Afrotopia. Paris: Dilecta, 2017. Ministère de la Culture du Mali; Institut Français. With texts by Marie-Ann Yemsi, Felwine Sarr, Thulie Gamedze, Cédric Aurelle. ISBN 978-2373720495. Published on the occasion of African Photography Encouters, Bamako, Mali, 2017/2018.
- Paris Nude. By Mary McCartney. London: HENI, 2019. ISBN 9781912122257.
- Africa State of Mind: Contemporary Photography Reimagines a Continent. London: Thames & Hudson, 2020. ISBN 978-0500545164.[12]
Exhibitions
Solo exhibitions
Group exhibitions
- African Passions, Palace of the Dukes of Cadaval, Evora Africa (African art and music festival), Evora, Portugal, 2018. Curated by André Magnin and Philippe Boutté. Included work from Plastic Crowns.[3][15][16]
- Not the Usual Suspects, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa, 2018/2019. A tribute to the Market Photo Workshop. Included work from Plastic Crowns.[17][18]
- NGV Triennial, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, 2020/2021. Included work from Plastic Crowns.[7][8]
Awards
- 2015: Gisèle Wulfsohn Mentorship in Photography, from the Market Photo Workshop and the family and friends of Wulfsohn.[19] Mentorship with Ayana V. Jackson.[5]
- 2018: 1 of 5 winners, CAP Prize for Contemporary African Photography, for Plastic Crowns[1][20]
References
- ^ a b "Contemporary African Photography Prize winners announced". British Journal of Photography. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
- ^ "Platform Africa". Aperture (227). 2017.
- ^ a b c "Sapeurs, self-portraits and silks: African contemporary arts – in pictures". The Guardian. 8 August 2018. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ "When the photographer turns the camera on herself". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ a b c "Phumzile Khanyile: Plastic Crowns". omenkaonline.com. 8 February 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ a b Almino, Elisa Wouk (4 May 2017). "Learning Political Lessons at the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ a b Stephens, Andrew (4 December 2020). "NGV Triennial gets under the skin with contemporary African visions". The Age. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ a b Gosling, Emily (17 December 2020). "Identity and Speculation Are at the Heart of This Brave Australian Triennial". Elephant. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ "Aesthetica Magazine - Celebrating Tradition". Aesthetica Magazine. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ "Our Ten Favorite Pieces at Frieze and Beyond". Vice. 6 October 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ a b Farago, Jason (15 April 2020). "Five Artists to Follow on Instagram Now". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ "Celebrating the collective consciousness of contemporary African photography". Hero magazine. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ "Photo Workshop Gallery". Artforum. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ "Plastic Crowns". Market Photo Workshop. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ "Evora Africa: crossing continents". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ "African Passions: Beyond Geography, History and Bodies". Elephant. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ "Not the Usual Suspects". Vogue Italia. 24 January 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ "Living, Breathing Past: 'Not the Usual Suspects' at ISANG". ArtThrob. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ "2015 Gisèle Wulfsohn Mentorship Recipient". Market Photo Workshop. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ Blignaut, Charl. "What does the new wave of African photography say about us?". News24. Retrieved 3 April 2021.