We are at a very significant stop on Cologne’s art route. Zander Galerie is bringing together two towering figures who have shaped not only the history but also the soul of South African photography: David Goldblatt and Santu Mofokeng. The exhibition, which has less than a week left before closing and will see its final day on 20 March, offers a testimony woven with ethical seriousness and poetic sensitivity, stretching from the dark corridors of the Apartheid regime to the present day.
David Goldblatt, regarded as the ethical compass of South African photography, is represented by one of his most powerful early series, “The Transported” (1983–1986). This work addresses the vast distances Black South Africans were forced to travel by bus between their townships and workplaces during Apartheid. Without resorting to agitation, Goldblatt documents the exhaustion and inequality of these journeys with stark honesty, exposing the “ordinary” violence embedded in everyday life.
Santu Mofokeng, Goldblatt’s student and friend, emerges as an artist who pushed documentary photography beyond its traditional boundaries. Working with the Afrapix collective from 1985 onward, Mofokeng’s images are not merely observations but the product of deep contemplation. His lens searches for the memory of the land, spiritual quests, and the residues of post-Apartheid life, while his photographs carry both intellectual rigour and quiet poetry. Mofokeng redefines South African reality not simply as a site of political conflict, but as a landscape where memories, ghosts, and spirituality intertwine.
These two distinct perspectives illuminate a single geography from different windows. While Goldblatt focuses on social structures, mechanisms of power, and ethical seriousness, Mofokeng concentrates on memory, spirituality, and the language of the land. In terms of method, Goldblatt favours clarity and a distanced yet sharp gaze, whereas Mofokeng employs a patient, silent, and metaphorical approach. The works that form part of this dialogue have helped establish South African photography as a “cultural force” on the international stage.
The meeting of these two artists, who represent the visual conscience of South Africa, is now in its final days in Cologne. For those wishing to visit, the venue is Zander Galerie at Schönhauser Straße 8. The exhibition is open Tuesday to Friday from 11:00 to 18:00, and on Saturdays from 11:00 to 17:00, until 20 March 2026. It awaits those who wish to see the physical boundaries of the Apartheid regime and the traces it left on the human spirit through the eyes of these two masters.
