Phumzile Khanyile Explained

Phumzile Khanyile (born 1991) is a South African photographer, living in Johannesburg.^{[1] [2]} Her series Plastic Crowns is about women's lives and sexual politics.^[3] The series has been shown in group exhibitions at the Palace of the Dukes of Cadaval in Evora, Portugal; Iziko South African National Gallery in Cape Town; and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia; and was a winner of the CAP Prize for Contemporary African Photography,

Early life and education

Khanyile was born in Tladi, Soweto, South Africa.^[4] She studied photography at the Market Photo Workshop from 2013.^[5]

Life and work

Plastic Crowns is a series of self-portraits while dressed in her grandmother's clothes, with whom she lives.^[6] The series is concerned with the female experience of relations between the sexes, in terms of power. It is "an exploration of shame, and an unpacking of the expectations Khanyile inherited from her grandmother about what it means to be a woman"^[7] —"stereotypical ideas of gender, sexual preference and related stigmas and their relevance in contemporary society".^[8] It employs a snapshot aesthetic,^{[9] [10]} "as if they're from a private journal",^[3] "raw and out-of-focus [. . . ] as much from the family album snapshot as the rough urban glamour of postwar Japanese photography".^[11] Plastic Crowns came about through Khanyile spending a lot of time indoors, having been too "scared to leave her house since she was attacked on the streets."^[6]

Khanyile and Nkosinathi Khumalo direct the Johannesburg project space Zulu Republik.^[11]

Publications

Publications by Khanyile

• Plastic Crowns. Johannesburg: Market Photo Workshop.

Publications with contributions by Khanyile

• Afrotopia. Paris: Dilecta, 2017. Ministère de la Culture du Mali; Institut Français. With texts by Marie-Ann Yemsi, Felwine Sarr, Thulie Gamedze, Cédric Aurelle. . Published on the occasion of African Photography Encounters, Bamako, Mali, 2017/2018.
• Paris Nude. By Mary McCartney. London: HENI, 2019. .
• Africa State of Mind: Contemporary Photography Reimagines a Continent. London: Thames & Hudson, 2020. .^[12]

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

• Plastic Crowns, Market Photo Workshop, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2017^{[5] [13] [14]}

Group exhibitions

• African Passions, Palace of the Dukes of Cadaval, Evora Africa (African art and music festival), Evora, Portugal, 2018. Curated by and Philippe Boutté. Included work from Plastic Crowns.^{[3] [15] [16]}
• Not the Usual Suspects, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa, 2018/2019. A tribute to the Market Photo Workshop. Included work from Plastic Crowns.^{[17] [18]}
• NGV Triennial, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, 2020/2021. Included work from Plastic Crowns.^{[7] [8]}

Awards

• 2015: Gisèle Wulfsohn Mentorship in Photography, from the Market Photo Workshop and the family and friends of Wulfsohn.^[19] Mentorship with Ayana V. Jackson.^[5]
• 2018: 1 of 5 winners, CAP Prize for Contemporary African Photography, for Plastic Crowns^{[1] [20]}

External links

• Khanyile's profile at Afronova Gallery, Johannesburg

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2021-04-02. Contemporary African Photography Prize winners announced. British Journal of Photography.
2. 2017. Platform Africa. Aperture. 227.
3. News: 2021-04-03. Sapeurs, self-portraits and silks: African contemporary arts – in pictures. The Guardian. 8 August 2018. 0261-3077.
4. Web site: 2021-04-03. When the photographer turns the camera on herself. TimesLIVE.
5. Web site: 2021-04-03. Phumzile Khanyile: Plastic Crowns. 8 February 2017. omenkaonline.com.
6. Web site: Elisa Wouk. Almino. 2021-04-03. Learning Political Lessons at the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair. 4 May 2017. Hyperallergic.
7. Web site: Andrew. Stephens. 2021-04-03. NGV Triennial gets under the skin with contemporary African visions. 4 December 2020. The Age.
8. Web site: Emily. Gosling. 2021-04-03. Identity and Speculation Are at the Heart of This Brave Australian Triennial. 17 December 2020. Elephant.
9. Web site: 2021-04-03. Aesthetica Magazine - Celebrating Tradition. Aesthetica Magazine.
10. Web site: 2021-04-03. Our Ten Favorite Pieces at Frieze and Beyond. 6 October 2019. Vice.
11. News: Jason. Farago. 2021-04-03. Five Artists to Follow on Instagram Now. The New York Times. 15 April 2020. 0362-4331.
12. Web site: 2021-04-03. Celebrating the collective consciousness of contemporary African photography. Hero magazine.
13. Web site: 2021-04-03. Photo Workshop Gallery. Artforum.
14. Web site: 2021-04-03. Plastic Crowns. 23 February 2017. Market Photo Workshop.
15. Web site: 2021-04-03. Evora Africa: crossing continents. Financial Times.
16. Web site: 2021-04-03. African Passions: Beyond Geography, History and Bodies. 31 May 2018. Elephant.
17. Web site: 24 January 2019. 2021-04-03. Not the Usual Suspects. Vogue Italia.
18. Web site: 2021-04-03. Living, Breathing Past: ‘Not the Usual Suspects' at ISANG. ArtThrob.
19. Web site: 2021-04-03. 2015 Gisèle Wulfsohn Mentorship Recipient. 8 March 2016. Market Photo Workshop.
20. Web site: Charl. Blignaut. 2021-04-03. What does the new wave of African photography say about us?. News24.