Edito

In response to a torn, complex, moving country, the South African photographers speak out loud and clear. Their images reflect this, they speak out, they act, they show a revolt that isn't so foreign to us.

In 1989, a unique photography school was born in Johannesburg: the Market Photo Workshop. Dreamed up and founded by David Goldblatt, the school provides both a technical education and encourages its students in critical thinking about contemporary art. Focused on social documentary, it is teaching a whole generation of photographers to find their eye.

The violence that interferes with the shot is ultimately a response to global violence.

Directors Nathalie Masduraud and Valérie Urréa, after an impactful exhibition of David Goldblatt's photographs in Arles, decide to devote a filmed portrait to him. His images, which convey “a different story of apartheid” pave the way for a new South African photographic writing. Nathalie Maduraud and Valérie Urréa gradually discover it, deciding in the end to consecrate a whole documentary series to this generation of bold, critical photographers. In an exclusive interview, they tell us the story – both in shot and behind the scenes – of this captivating series.

The Films

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Behind the scenes of photography!

Discover the world of photography through a selection of reference documentaries, original creations, unpublished articles and exclusive interviews.

A unique film collection…

The Darkroom Rumour  is a collection of films and video works that invites you to discover an art that has become a daily practice. It is a new kind of video library designed to inspire and to cultivate its practice and its photographic world.

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Linked Articles

Interview with avec Nathalie Masduraud and Valérie Urréa
Nathalie Masduraud et Valerie Urrea by Nathalie Masduraud et Valérie Urréa

Interview with avec Nathalie Masduraud and Valérie Urréa

linked to South Africa, Chromatic Existences: Guy Tillim & Thandile Zwelibanzi

Nathalie Masduraud and Valérie Urréa are documentary filmmakers. Beyond their personal films (on autism and dance, among others, for Valérie, and on the occupation and the French colonies for Nathalie), they join forces to produce many societal and historical documentaries.
They have thus worked in particular on Iranian and South African photography. Their joint projects generally focus on the artistic and social recognition of women.

Violence
André Rouillé by André Rouillé

Violence

linked to Crime Scenes (How to become a forensic photographer)

Violence is an infinitely diverse phenomenon in terms of its sectors, its actors, its victims, its forms, its practices and its intensities. Not all violence is the same. It can be private, public, and even legal (if not legitimate), like police violence.

Further exploration

Bibliography

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• JO’BURG - artist: Guy Tillim ; 2005 ;  STE Publishers ; South Africa

• STILL EXISTENCES - artist: Thandile Zwelibanzi ; 2010 ; Camera Austria 

• THE FACE OF THE COUNTRY : A SOUTH AFRICAN FAMILY ALBUM 1860-1910 - Collective work ; edited by Karel Shoeman ; 1996 ; Human and Rousseau ; Cape Town

• EX OFFENDERS AT THE SCENE OF CRIME - artist: David Goldblatt ; 2020 ; Steidl Verlag 

• DAVID GOLDBLATT: STRUCTURES OF DOMINION AND DEMOCRACY - artist: David Goldblatt ; authors: Ivor Powell and Karolina Ziebinska-Lewandowska ; 2018 ; Steidl 

• BEAUFORT WEST - artist: Mikhael Subotsky ; author: Jonny Steinberg ; 2008 ; Chris Boot 

SOMNYAMA NGONYAMA, SALUT A TOI, LIONNE NOIRE ! - artist: Zanele Muholi ; 2021 ; Delpire & co ; French

ZANELE MUHOLI : FACES AND PHASES 2006-2014 - 2014 ; Steidl Verlag 

FLAT NOODLE SOUP TALK - artist: Pieter Hugo ; 2016 ; Editions Bessard 

• KIN - artist: Pieter Hugo ; 2015 ; Aperture

• BETWEEN DARKNESS AND LIGHT - SELECTED WORKS : SOUTH AFRICA 1994-2010 - artist: Jodi Bieber ; author: Filippo Maggia ; 2018 ; Skira 

• SOWETO - artist: Jodi Bieber ; 2010 ; Jacana Media