SMAC Gallery presents 16 Shots, Musa N. Nxumalo’s second solo exhibition with the gallery. This new body of work comprises sixteen photographic prints that continue the themes and focus of Nxumalo’s ongoing project, The Anthology of Youth.

This focus is marked by a convergence of twin concerns that Nxumalo has been exploring over the recent years as a photographer. These revolve around photography as a tool of both reportage and as a creative medium. Nxumalo has been steadily developing a unique visual vocabulary that delicately balances his interest in social documentary and fine art photography. To this end, he manages to employ an astute use of the black and white ‘film’ construct in images that courageously consider and capture the appearances and experiences of contemporary black South African youth. This results in a photographic oeuvre that oscillates between great empathetic intimacy and journalistic distance with unmissable humanity.

The Soweto-born and raised photographer has turned his camera lens onto his peers as subjects. Hence the 16 Shots on show represent a reflection on the changing contexts and concerns that confront this contemporary generation of South African ‘youths’ – a generation whose meaning Nxumalo is also the co-architect of.

Read the full text by Percy Mabandu here: 16 Shots 

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