NEDBANK 

ART SUITE

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HERE, THERE & FORWARD

South Beach, replacing sand washed away during the floods and wave action, Durban

Santu Mofokeng

1956 – 2020

Artwork Details

Artist          Santu Mofokeng 
Title            South Beach, replacing sand washed away during the floods and wave action, Durban
Medium      Photograph, edition of 9 (110 x 160 cm)

About the Artist

Santu Mofokeng (1956–2020) was a South African photographer born in Johannesburg. He began as a street photographer and darkroom assistant, joined the Afrapix collective in 1985, and worked at the African Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand from 1988 to 1998. In 1991 he received the Ernest Cole Scholarship to study at the International Center of Photography in New York. His honours included the 1992 Mother Jones Award for Africa, the 2007 Ruth First Fellowship, the 2009 Prince Claus Award and an honorary doctorate from Wits University in 2016.

About this Artwork

Acquired by Nedbank in 2010, this photograph shows Mofokeng's remarkable ability to move beyond straightforward documentary photography and create images that operate on both visual and conceptual levels. While the work records a coastal landscape in Durban, it simultaneously becomes a reflection on the complex relationship between people, place, and the environment. Mofokeng was deeply interested in the ways landscapes carry the traces of human history, memory, and social experience, often revealing stories that are not immediately visible.

Rendered in subtle gradations of black, grey and white, the image possesses the sombre, almost ghostly atmosphere that characterises many of Mofokeng's most compelling photographs. The landscape seems to emerge through veils of mist and shadow, with forms dissolving into one another and the horizon becoming indistinct. This ambiguity transforms the scene from a mere record of place into something more contemplative and poetic. Mofokeng had a remarkable ability to capture the intangible essence of a landscape, revealing not only its physical qualities but also its emotional and historical resonance.