Shades of Silence: Athenkosi Kwinana, Albinism and the struggle for visibility in South Africa

By Nolan Stevens

In the streets of Johannesburg, under the vibrant chaos of daily life, a quieter battle for recognition unfolds. It is a fight waged not with protests or petitions, but through the paintbrushes, cameras, and canvases of South Africa’s artistic community. For people living with albinism (PWA), their stories are often whispered, their presence seen but not truly acknowledged. And yet, in the growing tide of South African art, albinism is no longer invisible—it is finding its place in the country’s evolving cultural tapestry.

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Collective Healing through the Archive: Nomusa Makhubu inserting the erased

by Sibongile Oageng Msimango

Documentary photography serves to present accurate accounts of historical events. The key word in this understanding is ‘accurate’, which gives the impression that what is documented is fact or undisputable truth. The issue with such a simplified definition is that it disregards the subjectivity and perspective of the photographer. It is through the eyes and the lens of the photographer that the image is constructed and captured. The extent of the subjectivity of the photographer can be noticed in anthropological photographic archives, where European photographers documented the indigenous people they encountered on their explorations without providing much context as to who they were, to which cultures they belonged or what their names were.

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