Santu Mofokeng
South Africa, 1956-2020
Pilgrims, DIkgorong, Motouleng, Clarens
INV-2639
Santu Mofokeng
South Africa, 1956-20201996
Pilgrims, DIkgorong, Motouleng, Clarens
Santu Mofokeng South Africa, 1956-2020 →20th Centuryphotographyphotograph
Date
1996
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
57.3 × 38.2 cm (22 9/16 × 15 1/16 in.); Sheet: 60.8 × 51 cm (23 15/16 × 20 1/8 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Photography and Media Gala Endowment Fund
Beginning in 1996 Santu Mofokeng traveled repeatedly to the central South African town of Clarens to observe worshippers from various religions who had trekked to nearby caves to pay homage to their ancestors. In his words:
Photographing in the Motouleng and Mautse Caves steered me to places where reality blends freely with unreality, where my knowledge of [photography] was tested to the limit. While the images record rituals, fetishes and settings, I am not certain that I was able to capture on film the essence of the consciousness I saw. Perhaps I was looking for something that refuses to be photographed. Perhaps, I was only chasing shadows.
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