‘Slaghuis II’ by 2019 Gisèle Wulfsohn Mentorship in Photography Recipient Thembinkosi Hlatshwayo
Thembinkosi Hlatshwayo, Forlorn Sitter, 2019. Courtesy of the artist.
‘Slaghuis II’ is a search for what it means to be marked by violence. Slaghuis is an Afrikaans word for a literal place of slaughter and a vernacular expression for a place of violence that had come to identify the tavern where Hlatshwayo grew up. He transforms the familiar spaces of home and tavern into places of making that takes up violence as a visual language. ‘Slaghuis II’ marks the second chapter in this ongoing body of work, produced as the 2019 Gisèle Wulfsohn Mentorship Recipient of the Market Photo Workshop. Hlatshwayo was mentored by John Fleetwood.
Jack Black’s Beer is an in-kind sponsor of opening nights, professional engagement and professional networking events at the Market Photo Workshop.
Thembinkosi Hlatshwayo, Untitled, 2019. Courtesy of the artist.
About Thembinkosi Hlatshwayo
Thembinkosi Hlatshwayo (b. 1993) is a photographer based in Johannesburg. He joined Jabulani Dhlamini’s Of Soul and Joy Photography initiative in 2016. In 2018 he completed a year course in the Advanced Programme in Photography at the Market Photo Workshop.
Hlatshwayo’s first Slaghuis series won him the 2019 CAP Prize for Contemporary African Photography in Basel, Switzerland. His work has appeared in NICE Magazine 3rd Editions and group exhibitions at Fotomuseum Winterthur, IAF Basel Festival, and Johannesburg’s Turbine Art Fair.
Thembinkosi Hlatshwayo is the Gisèle Wulfsohn Mentorship in Photography Recipient for 2019 and Slaghuis II is his first solo exhibition.
Thembinkosi Hlatshwayo, Wild Connection, 2019. Courtesy of the artist.
About John Fleetwood
John Fleetwood is a photography curator, educator and director of Photo: He was born and lives in Johannesburg. Fleetwood has curated numerous exhibitions including recently ‘Five Photographers: A tribute to David Goldblatt’ (Johannesburg, Maputo, Maseru, Makhanda, Durban, Bamako; 2018-2019). In 2017, he was guest editor for Aperture’s ‘Platform Africa’ edition. He convenes democraSEE, an award and mentorship programme for Southern African photographers. Fleetwood works closely with other institutions of education such as the Centres of Learning for Photography in Africa. From 2002-2015 Fleetwood was the Head of the Market Photo Workshop.
About the Gisèle Wulfsohn Mentorship Award
The Gisèle Wulfsohn Mentorship in Photography has been developed to provide an emerging photographer with the infrastructural support to develop a body of work. The mentorship has been created by the family of the late Gisèle Wulfsohn to honour her memory and her work, and is seen as an opportunity to continue her approach and interests in photography. Wulfsohn dedicated her life and photography to awareness, openness and respect; she worked on issues of democracy, HIV/AIDS and positive sexual identities, social inclusion and gender issues, and maintained a commitment to education and social change.
The Gisèle Wulfsohn Mentorship in Photography provides an emerging photographer with a grant to develop a proposed body of work, in conjunction with an identified mentor, thus a mentorship. In addition to the grant, the fellowship offers the possibility of a solo-exhibition and a publication to accompany it.
About the Market Photo Workshop
The Market Photo Workshop is a Johannesburg-based school of photography, gallery and resource centre for practising photographers. Since its establishment in 1989, the school has played an integral role in the training and growth of photographers from South Africa and further afield, while promoting photography through exhibitions, public debates and collaborative projects, especially within marginalized communities. The Market Photo Workshop is a division of The Market Theatre Foundation.
Market Photo Workshop is the recipient of The Principal Prince Claus Award 2018.
‘Slaghuis II’ will be open to the public from 28 February until 29 May 2020 at The Photo Workshop Gallery. Additional public programmes to be announced.
