CHRIS THURMAN: A tribute to Thabiso Sekgala
Santu Mofokeng’s passing and the opening of Thabiso Sekgala’s Bôna mark a moment of sober reflection and recollection
This week the SA arts community mourned the passing of Santu Mofokeng, one of our most important photographers over the past four decades. Mofokeng’s artistic and institutional influence shaped both photojournalism as a practice and wider perceptions about photography in the gallery space — though, as Sean O’Toole wrote five years ago, “this vivid and democratic medium is not widely collected” in this country.
O’Toole’s observation was made in an earlier moment of grief: in the wake of the suicide of Thabiso Sekgala in 2014. Unlike Mofokeng, whose death at the age of 64 followed a long career in which his enormous body of work was widely published and exhibited, when the 33-year-old Sekgala took his life he had just begun to establish himself — though, as O’Toole noted at the time, he was “arguably the brightest hope among a new generation of photographers”. ..
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.