Documentary photography at its best

A series of exhibitions and community engagement, Revelations, will open at the Durban Art Gallery from September 23 and will run until November 10.

It’s a visual dialogue between two generations of South African documentary photographers, Cedric Nunn and Samora Chapman, whose work exposes the daily struggles and triumphs of the people at KZN.

The exhibition is presented by the Alliance Française de Durban and the Durban Art Gallery, in partnership with the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS) and the Center for Visual Methodologies for Social Change, UKZN.

The combined work of Cedric Nunn and Samora Chapman presents a photographic journey from the remote rural areas of Zululand to the streets of central Durban. Revelations is a collection of works that asks a number of important questions through reflection and comparison between fleeting moments of ordinary life at KZN, captured three decades apart.

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Both photographers have spent many years documenting the achievements and challenges of ordinary people through their work. They have carried out various important educational and photographic projects, and their body of work is an active agent of social change.

Typically, their choice of topics is outside the scope of the mainstream media and the public interest: people whose lives and experiences are beyond the public eye and whose dreams have been delayed.

Their work, while documenting suffering, poverty and exploitation, evokes the strength of the human spirit. Their photographs highlight resilience and disillusionment, but above all, the agency. A time suspended between frustration and hope.

Revelations is located at the Durban Art Gallery, 2nd Floor, Town Hall, Smith Street Entrance (opposite The Playhouse), in downtown Durban. The opening hours of the Gallery are Monday to Friday 8:30 am to 3:00 pm. Contact Alliance Française de Durban on 031 31 29 582 or by email [email protected]