becoming the camera
July 9, 2020 6:27 AM Subscribe
M Neelika Jayawardane writes for the Guardian & Mail in remembrance of the complex legacy and important record left by South African George Hallett, "a trickster figure — a chameleon who knew how to blend in with the background, and observe his photographic subjects’ burdens and most vulnerable states" who passed away July 1.
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M Neelika Jayawardane on Hallett and the ANC
In 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) commissioned South African photographer George Hallett to document the electoral process and first democratic government. Hallett’s images—under the auspices of the ANC’s direction—filled the empty image spaces created by a twenty-seven year ban on Nelson Mandela’s image, producing the iconic image of Mandela in the global imaginary; they also helped re-fashion global—and internal—reflections about the “new” nation, moulding how we continue to see South Africa via Mandela’s, his adoring subjects’, and his adversaries’ performances for the camera.
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A selection of photographs from his 2019 show at Gallery Momo in Capetown
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Hundreds of independent art and museums spaces were forced to close due to the Corona-Crisis. In this series [c& magazine] are celebrating the fantastic artistic events that are right now sitting behind closed doors. Lay your eyes on the exhibition at BIC Project Space in Casablanca, creating a creative dialogue between photography, music and literature through the photographs of George Hallett.
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M Neelika Jayawardane on Hallett and the ANC
In 1994, the African National Congress (ANC) commissioned South African photographer George Hallett to document the electoral process and first democratic government. Hallett’s images—under the auspices of the ANC’s direction—filled the empty image spaces created by a twenty-seven year ban on Nelson Mandela’s image, producing the iconic image of Mandela in the global imaginary; they also helped re-fashion global—and internal—reflections about the “new” nation, moulding how we continue to see South Africa via Mandela’s, his adoring subjects’, and his adversaries’ performances for the camera.
---
A selection of photographs from his 2019 show at Gallery Momo in Capetown
---
Hundreds of independent art and museums spaces were forced to close due to the Corona-Crisis. In this series [c& magazine] are celebrating the fantastic artistic events that are right now sitting behind closed doors. Lay your eyes on the exhibition at BIC Project Space in Casablanca, creating a creative dialogue between photography, music and literature through the photographs of George Hallett.
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The first link, especially, is a really great and careful appreciation. Well worth your time to read.
posted by librarylis at 12:12 PM on July 12, 2020 [1 favorite]