Sibadala Sibancane

For the Rencontres d’Arles and Institut français Curatorial Research Grant – Africa Projects, I planned to investigate Southern and Eastern African ideas around contemporary African photography in relation to documentary photography and what that meant for African female photographers.Lebogang Tlhako’s series Sibadala Sibancane is an intimate portrayal of these themes but what is even more striking about her work is her process of making. Sibadala Sibancane, all shot on 35mm film, is a collection of photographs which speak about her relationship with her mother and how it has influenced and shaped her growth into a young woman. Her work is a reminder of a culture of keeping photo albums which was made popular at the end of the nineteenth century as part of middle-class femininity. In those days, album making was for the high-ranking women with the time and money to design a photo book of their memories that contained family history and personal narrative’s. Tlhako brings back the nostalgia in album making by creating collages that layer images from her mother’s photo albums with cut outs of portraits of young children and landscapes from her community and environment.

For more informations, go on the website of the Rencontres photographiques d'Arles. 

About Lebogang Tlhako (South Africa) et Fulufhelo Mobadi (South Africa) : 

LEBOGANG TLHAKO
Born 1988, in Katlehong, South Africa. Lebogang Tlhako lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa Lebogang Tlhako trained as a photographer at the Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg and completed the Advanced Programme in Photography in 2012. She works primarily with film photography and is fascinated by South African street style, different cultures and social landscapes. Tlhako is currently part of the editorial team for Nice Magazine and has exhibited at Unseen exhibition in Amsterdam in 2018. She has recently been selected for the Lampost Luminaries, a 10-month fellowship program starting in 2020 for emerging women photographers and videographers.

Curator: FULUFHELO MOBADI
Born 1988 in Johannesburg, South Africa. In 2012, Fulufhelo Mobadi graduated from the Photojournalism and Documentary Photography Programme at the Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg. Her photographic practice focuses on the day-to-day struggles of women within contemporary South Africa and the African continent more broadly. As a socially engaged photographer, she is motivated by making the unspoken and the hidden visible. Mobadi currently works as the Coordinator for Courses and Training at the Market Photo Workshop.

About the Rencontres photographiques d'Arles : 
The Rencontres d'Arles is a summer photography festival founded in 1970, which has learned a world- wide reputation as a springboard for photographic and contemporary creative talents. Many of the most prestigious photographers have taken part in the Rencontres d’Arles, but the list of those who were “discovered” there is also impressive. The festival aims to stay abreast of changes in the photographic image and new processes and technologies, and to offer everyone a chance to get to know the world of photography. It is rich in diverse viewpoints thanks to the number and variety of photographers and curators from different backgrounds. Every year, the festival attempts to decipher a changing world, since photography is the medium that best tells the story.

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