Johannesburg - Katlehong-born documentary photographer Lindokuhle Sobekwa has won the FNB Joburg Art Prize for his contemplative and stimulating documentary photography work soaked in materialism and subtle geographical and temporal distances.
Sobekwa was announced as the winner of the 16th edition of the art prize during an event held at 19 Dartfield Road in Kramerville yesterday.
By winning this prestigious art prize, Sobekwa etched his name as the 16th winner of the prize, behind previous laureates such as Lady Skollie, Nelisiwe Xaba, Dada Khanyisa, and Bronwyn Katz.
FNB chief marketing officer Faye Mfikwe congratulated Sobekwa for his achievements, saying: “This prize was created to recognise talent and innovation in the arts. As a result, we are delighted to see artists pushing the boundaries of conventional thinking through creative expression. As a brand and trusted partner, we remain committed to supporting and growing the creative economy on the African continent.”
According to the jury, made up of Abigail Eands, Joy Simmons and Kim Kandan, Sobekwa’s practice uses the camera to historically contemplate the present. Soaked in materialism and subtly resolving geographical and temporal distances, in his hand the camera invites absent presences that were there when his images were made into the present.
On their decision, the jury for the 2023 FNB Art Prize said: “Creating compelling documentary photography, Lindokuhle Sobekwa’s work represents an explicitly South African narrative. He brings into focus a poignant reality in which both strife and soft moments exist, exposing, questioning, and reflecting on current times and experiences."
Born in Katlehong, Ekurhuleni, Sobekwa is from a generation of South African photographers born after the first democratic elections of 1994. Through his participation in the Of Soul and Joy photography education programme in Thokoza during 2012, he realised that the medium of photography would be essential in telling stories that interest and concern him.
FNB Art Joburg’s managing director, Mandla Sibeko, said Sobekwa fits the calibre of previous winners.
“When you look back at the calibre of artists who have won this prize, they are awe-inspiring to the public and their peers. They find new ways to use existing materials to interrogate important issues.”
“Lindokuhle is no different because the way he works with the camera has managed to continue the reflective, conscious, and delicate legacies left behind by the likes of Ernest Cole,” Sibeko said.
Connecting the dots of kinship and allegiance within the photographic terrain, Sobekwa recalls the first time he encountered Ernest Cole’s work at the age of 17.
“‘House of Bondage’ became a great reference in terms of what I was pursuing in my language as a photographer,” said Sobekwa.
In 2014, his photo essay “Nyaope” was published on several prolific platforms, including the “Mail & Guardian”, “Vice” magazine’s annual Photo Issue, and the Belgian publication “De Standaard”. Thereafter, he received a scholarship to study at the Market Photo Workshop, where he refined his approach to the camera in both concept and technique. Since then, Sobekwa’s success has included being selected by the Magnum Foundation for Photography and Social Justice in New York to develop his project, “I Carry Her Photo of Me”. Two years later, the handmade photo book was included in the “African Cosmologies” exhibition at the FotoFest Biennial in Houston.
In 2022, the artist made his museum show debut at Huis Marseille in the Netherlands before becoming a member of Magnum Photos and receiving the inaugural John Kobal Foundation Fellowship.
As the winner of the 2023 prize, Sobekwa will receive a cash prize as well as a solo exhibition at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, where the largest art collection on the continent resides.
The Star