Wits marks Joburg’s 140th year by seeing the unseen through Goldblatt’s lens
· Citizen
As the City of Joburg marks its 140th year, the Wits Art Museum is hosting a unique exhibition that honours the late photographer David Goldblatt’s 95th year.
But what makes the exhibition interesting is that it not only features Goldblatt’s iconic works, but also spotlights the next generation of South African documentary photographers.
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Exhibition honours late David Goldblatt’s 95th year
The exhibition, What We Do Not See, is curated by the legendary photographer’s daughter, Brenda Goldblatt, who has chosen to also honour the work of other photographers that her father inspired.
David Goldblatt was one of South Africa’s greatest documentary photographers. For many years, he photographed the daily realities of people living under apartheid in South Africa.
David spent many years documenting the ordinary lives of people living in Johannesburg, its landscape and architecture to reveal the political and social realities of South Africa.
The exhibition seeks to examine photography as a way to bring to light what is otherwise unseen.
Being planned around the idea of “Johannesburg being home”, Brenda Goldblatt said it reflects on memories, a sense of belonging, identity, history and emotional ties many people and communities have to Johannesburg.
9 Joburg photographers exploring belonging, identity and home
Nine Johannesburg-based photographers – Gulshan Khan, Jabulani Dhlamini, Jo Ractliffe, Jodi Bieber, Lindokuhle Sobekwa, Madoda Mkhobeni, Mark Lewis, Sabelo Mlangeni and Tshepiso Mazibuko – explore several themes of living in and around Joburg.
For Goldblatt, the exhibition serves as both a tribute to her late father and a celebration of the future South Africa has in photography.
“I wanted to do something to remember my father in what would have been his 95th year,” she said. Looking at her father’s work, Goldblatt explained photography as part of his legacy.
“My father’s real passion was taking photographs and enabling other photographers,” she said.
Goldblatt portrayed her father as someone who wanted to build a culture of photography in the country that was supportive and enabling.
Father wanted to build supportive, enabling culture of photography
“I felt like now is the time to make other photographers’ work visible,” she said.
Goldblatt plans not to make the exhibition solely about David; she placed other photographers alongside his work deliberately, so that they could tell their stories and share their passion for photography.
“My father felt very happy if his work or exhibitions amplified the work of others. I don’t want my father’s work to be the centre of these photographers’ careers, but rather a starting point,” she said.
She added Joburg was the most central place throughout her father’s photographic journey.
The exhibition’s title comes from a passer-by who told David, “You show us what we do not see”, while he was photographing near a highway.
- The exhibition opened on Tuesday and will run until 24 October. Entrance is free and the museum times are: Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm.