Zwelethu Mthethwa is the self-titled monograph by one of today’s leading artists. This long-awaited first monograph provides a comprehensive overview of his work to date and features the stunning portraits that have brought him international acclaim.
Since apartheid’s fall in 1994, South African photography has exploded from the grip of censorship onto the world stage. A key figure in this movement is Zwelethu Mthethwa, whose work addresses the economic and political realities of present-day South Africa.
Working in urban and rural industrial landscapes, Mthethwa documents mutiple aspects of South Africa—from domestic life and the environment, to landscape and labor issues. His work challenges the conventions of both Western documentary work and African commercial studio photography, marking a transition away from the visually exotic and diseased—or "afro-pessimism," as curator Okwui Enwezor has referred to it—and employing a fresh approach marked by color and collaboration.
