Selected by Lindokuhle Sobekwa, photographer, Johannesburg
Tshepiso Mazibuko is among the generation of photographers born in post-1994 democratic South Africa who are compelling storytellers creating images with passion, integrity and tenderness. Her work delves into the experience of being ‘born free’, addressing contemporary issues from an inward-looking perspective that reflects a greater society. Tshepiso refuses to be confined to a single creative form; her blending of conceptual and documentary photography fosters thought-provoking conversations about contemporary South Africa.
I met Tshepiso in 2012 when I was a student; we studied together in the Of Soul and Joy programme, which introduced photography to high-school students in Thokoza, a township just south of Johannesburg. There were perhaps 50 students who started in the class, and as time passed the group pared down to four students; she was the only female learner remaining.
Tshepiso always expressed a desire to be a journalist rather than a photographer. However, she possessed a natural talent for photography. The first body of work that truly resonated with me was her Encounter series (2012–); it captured people in Thokoza in their own homes, which feels like a direct continuation of the documentary lineage in South Africa. Her poetic eye is what makes the series so powerful. It is an exploration of human connection, intimacy and vulnerability. Through her lens, Mazibuko captures the beauty of everyday encounters. Most of her subjects are male figures who are depicted with dignity and tenderness. Her unique viewpoint brings a nuanced perspective on male-dominated spaces.
In 2022 Tshepiso was invited to take part in the book project House of Story: Magnum Archive (released 2024). The project was curated by Mark Sealy and invited four photographers from the African continent to respond to the Magnum Photos archive on African histories. I had the privilege of working with curator and editor Candice Jansen as mentors assisting the photographers in shaping their projects. The title of Tshepiso’s project was Awukho umdlalo ongena babukeli (There’s Always Someone Looking). This intriguing title plays with the metaphor of looking and being looked at, which is a compelling concept in the context of photography in general, but even more so when thinking about archives of images from the African continent. Historically, the subjects of these photographs were often the ones being observed. Tshepiso’s project was autobiographical and explored themes of time, memory and death. In the course of the project she experimented with expired film, created fading, ghostlike figures and abstractions, sometimes intentionally altering the film to create visually interesting effects and sometimes allowing the effects to occur by accident.
In recent years Tshepiso has found international recognition. Her series Ho tshepa ntshepedi ya bontshepe (To Believe in Something That Will Never Happen, 2017–18), which further captures the community in Thokoza, was shown at the Rencontres d’Arles photography festival in 2024 and awarded the Louis Roederer Foundation Discovery Award.
Tshepiso Mazibuko is a South African photographer currently living in Johannesburg. She completed her studies in photography at the Market Photo Workshop in 2016. Mazibuko was a recipient of the Prince Claus Award in 2018, and in 2024 she received the Public Award at the Discovery Award Louis Roederer Foundation and the Prix de la Photo Madame Figaro Arles.
