Ways of Seeing: South African and International Photography

Live Virtual Auction, 18 September 2024

Ways of Seeing: South African and International Photography
About the Session

Ways of Seeing: South African and International Photography showcases a collection of works that take a critical approach to photography, layered with themes of personhood, subjectivity and community.

The sale features works from distinct collections by passionate collectors with a discerning eye and deep engagement with art – featuring The Gary Eisenberg Collection, part of the Linda Givon Collection, works from The Photographic Archival and Preservation Association as well as a group of contemporary African artists who have made a significant mark within the medium of photography including, Zanele Muholi, Mary Sibande, Kudzanai Chiurai, Pieter Hugo and Nandipha Mntambo, among others.

With a title that pays homage to a great thinker, John Berger, Ways of Seeing: South African and International Photography challenges traditional notions of the gaze, inviting us to engage the human experience through images of nude physical forms, intimate portraits, landscapes and depictions of the environment. The sale is a meditation on the ethics of seeing, often fraught with complexity and contestation.

It highlights the diversity within both local and global photographic traditions through an array of works, with significant contributions from African photographers alongside globally renowned artists such as Bill Brandt (British), Nan Goldin (American), Bettina Rheims (French), Sebastião Salgado (Brazilian), Viviane Sassen (Dutch), Wolfgang Tillmans (German), Joel-Peter Witkin (American), André Kertész (Hungarian), Roman Vishniac (Russian-American), and Youssef Nabil (Egyptian).

A significant portion of Ways of Seeing: South African and International Photography is drawn from The Gary Eisenberg Collection following the tragic and untimely passing of Gary earlier this year. This inclusion comes with immense gratitude from Gary’s wife, Dominique Eisenberg. 


  • Kudzanai Chiurai; Minister of Defence, Dying To Be Men Series
  • Kudzanai Chiurai; Minister of Defence, Dying To Be Men Series
  • Kudzanai Chiurai; Minister of Defence, Dying To Be Men Series


Lot Estimate
ZAR 80 000 - 120 000
Location
Cape Town
Make an Offer
The item was unsold and may still be available

About this Item

Zimbabwean 1981-
Minister of Defence, Dying To Be Men Series
2009

signed twice and numbered 10/10 in pencil in the margin

Ultrachrome ink on photo fibre paper
image size: 149,5 by 99,5cm; 169,5 by 115 by 3,5cm including frame

Provenance

Property of a Collector.

Exhibited

Goodman Gallery, Cape Town, Dying to be Men, 16 July to 15 August 2009, another example from the edition exhibited.

Literature

Malibongwe Tyilo (2021) Daily Maverick, Ours is a country in desperate need of a better national myth, online, https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-07-13-no-country-for-old-myths/, accessed 12 August 2024, illustrated in colour.

View all Kudzanai Chiurai lots for sale in this auction