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Exhibitions & Activations

A Beautiful Struggle: A Journey Through Post-Apartheid Realities

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Memorial crosses at the foot of the ‘koppie’, at Marikana. (Photo by Alon Skuy)

Memorial crosses at the foot of the ‘koppie’, at Marikana. (Photo by Alon Skuy)

This exhibition, A Beautiful Struggle: A Journey Through Post-Apartheid Realities, aims to capture and reflect upon a series of multifaceted experiences of South Africans and the nation itself in this contemporary post-Apartheid era, with not only its unfathomable strength and endless celebration, but also its continued violence and entrenched hierarchies. The juxtapositions of joy with pain, abundance with destitution, and unimaginable power in the face of devastation, mark the images on the walls made by South African-born, award-winning photojournalist and iWitness Fellow, Alon Skuy. The magic that Skuy brings is his depiction of beauty in struggle. Award-winning Skuy is thrilled to have Miami audiences see his work: “I deeply appreciate the opportunity to communicate to a new audience the stories of South African resilience, beauty and strength. It is a society marked by contrasts - inequality progress, and diversity. This in the continuing struggle for an equitable, democratic society.”

The exhibition gives the viewer an intimate tour of day-to-day realties of South African life.  Skuy, by elevating these singular frames, each marking a moment in time, allows the viewer into intimate spaces that reflect the strength in the beautiful struggle, one that marks our collective humanity and continues in South Arica – and around the world – every single day. As curator Carl-Philippe Juste puts it: “Through Alon’s lens the veneer of race dissipates as humanity emerges.  The beautiful struggle speaks not only through post-apartheid South Africa, it also is a reminder to each of us of the challenges that are ahead of us; for those who strive for equality, dignity and equity.”

  • A man poses for a photograph, inside his home, in a bridge, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The opening under the bridge is no bigger than a manhole. Picture: Alon Skuy
  • Professional dancer Musa Motha, who dances on crutches, poses after a practice session in Newtown, Johannesburg, South Africa. Picture: Alon Skuy
  • Nelson Mandela, photographed during a visit from a young soccer team, from Bree Primary School, in Mayfair, JHB. The team won the 2008 Danone Nations Cup and represented South Africa in France. Picture: Alon Skuy
  • Siphiwe Mbatha, poses for a photograph, at Constitution Hill, in Johannesburg South Africa, during STR.CRD, a street fashion event in the city. Picture: Alon Skuy
  • Rose Mhlanga, talks about losing her daughter, Kate. It is believed that Kate was killed by a serial killer. Rose works as a Domestic Worker in Pretoria. Picture: Alon Skuy
  • A relative is consoled, ten months after the ‘Marikana Massacre’, on a cold mid-June day. The families of the deceased were bussed to Marikana, to the koppie, for a memorial and ritual cleansing at the sites of the killings. Picture: Alon Skuy

Read more about it in Caplin News

Read more about it in The Citizen

iWitness ArtSpace

This is the second large-scale exhibition as part of iWitness ArtSpace, a collaborative project between the WPHL-FIU and IPC ArtSpace, funded by the Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation at the Miami Foundation (The Pérez Family Foundation), as part of the third edition of the Pérez CreARTE Grants Program. This exhibition and  programming is presented in association with the Haitian Cultural Arts Alliance (HCAA).