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20/9/2007

Mikhael Subotzky

Foam Photography Museum, Amsterdam

Beaufort West

In March 2007 an international jury named Mikhael Subotzky as one of two winners of the annual KLM Paul Huf Award. Part of this prize for young international photographers is an exhibition at Foam. ‘Beaufort West’ is the first of these two shows.

The South African town of Beaufort West lies halfway down the busy motorway between Cape Town and Johannesburg. In the centre, on a roundabout there is a prison. Fascinated by this remarkable phenomenon, Mikhael Subtozky (b. 1982, South Africa) photographed life in and around the jail. Beaufort West was recently described by a South African human rights organisation as ‘an isolated town that has yet to loosen itself from the chains of apartheid, where economic and social integration are still very limited.’ Unlike the country’s main cities, where the gap between rich and poor is dramatic, Subotzky’s work reveals a subtler contrast between various sections of the population.

‘Beaufort West’ brings the social problems that plague this South African town into focus: high unemployment, rampant crime in the townships, domestic violence, child prostitution, alcohol abuse and all the problems that brings. To date, the government has been unable to make any impact on the endemic poverty in Beaufort West.

Beaufort West’s prison is the focus of Subotzky’s series. He photographed the various gangs - a common feature of prison life in South Africa. In ‘Beaufort West’ Subotzky examines the margins of South African society.

Mikhael Subotzky lives and works in Cape Town. He graduated in 2004 at Michaelis School of Fine Art in Cape Town. His graduation project ‘Die Vier Hoeke’, a photo series about South Africa’s prison system, was widely acclaimed. He won several South African and international prizes for the series, including the Special Jurors Award in 2005, F25 Award for Concerned Photography in 2006 and the City of Perpignan Young Photographer Award and KLM Paul Huf Award both in 2007. At twenty-five, Subotzky became the youngest photographer to join the prestigious photo agency Magnum. Subotzky has shown work in galleries and museums around the world, including Paris, Mexico City, New York, Barcelona, Turin. His work is found in collections such as South Africa’s National Gallery, Johannesburg Art Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Mikhael Subotzky’s exhibition can be seen from 21 September to 11 November 2007 at Foam Photography Museum Amsterdam. Open daily 10.00-18.00, Thurs/Fri 10.00-21.00. Tickets: € 7.00 / info: +31 (0)20 5516500 / www.foam.nl

Note to editors: For more information and visual material contact Merel Kappelhoff (communications), e-mail merel@foam.nl or phone +31 (0)20 5516500.

Foam is sponsored by Stichting DOEN, T-Mobile and VandenEnde Foundation.

FOAM Photography Museum
Keizersgracht 609 - Amsterdam
Open daily 10.00-18.00, Thurs/Fri 10.00-21.00.
Tickets: € 7.00

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