About the Artist: Santu Mofokeng

Santu Mofokeng is known for his black-and-white photographs of life in South Africa’s black communities, images he calls meditations on “existential madness—the absurdities of living.” Mofokeng first picked up a camera in the 1980s as a street photographer, while working in the darkroom for newspapers. In 1986, he made his first independent pieces and began work on what he considers photographic essays—many of which continue as ongoing projects. His subjects and themes have included his hometown Soweto, impoverishment in urban and rural centers, spirituality, self-representation and family history, and landscapes with political undertones about ownership and power.

Portrait of Santu courtesy of the artist and MAKER/Lunetta Bartz, Johannesburg.