David Goldblatt — Marian Goodman Gallery — Exhibition — Slash Paris

Past: January 15 → February 19, 2011

Series after series, David Goldblatt seeks to understand the complex values that constitute the fabric of his country. He observes the social and political evolution of South-African society; from the universe of the Afrikaners, the black South Africans, to deep level gold mining. His photos from the “TJ” series depict Johannesburg in black and white from the 1950’s and more recently in color. These images witness the torments of this city during Apartheid and since the end of the segregationist regime.

“Johannesburg is a fragmented city. It is not a place of smoothly integrated parts. And it has a name that does not roll easily off the tongue. Unsurprisingly, the people of its fragments, which are severely divided by class, culture and, in particular, by race, have their own names, nicknames, elisions, diminutives and linguistic transliterations for the place. Some of these names are carried into this book. The ‘main name’ is TJ, but you are unlikely to hear it on the street or to see it in any listing. It comes from our old motorcar-licensing system.”