GROOMED FOR LABOUR AND LOVE PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION
A photographic exhibition of black and white analogue images, Groomed for Labour and Love opens at the Springs Art Gallery (SAG) on Saturday, 5 August 2023.
The exhibition is a collaboration between Mike Mzileni and Len Khumalo Foundation, curated by Nthabeleng Masudubele and co-curated by Zinhle Gule. It unites the creations of renowned photographers Len Khumalo and the late Mike Mzileni, who captured the lives and struggles of women and their changing roles over time.
These two giants practised predominantly in the late 90s to early 2000s leaving a prolific archive of photographs which are powerful catalysts for conversations about both our national history and contemporary South Africa and society at large.
This exhibition allows pondering on the roles that women are groomed to occupy from an early age. It reflects on some of the overt and covert ways in which women are groomed to assume roles of domestic labour from a young age. It also demonstrates how love is weaponised to socialise women into these roles. Additionally, it tells the tale of women whose lives have challenged and subverted these limiting roles. The exhibition takes you on a journey through the lives of iconic figures such as Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Brenda Fassie as well as everyday women.
This exhibition is an opportunity to be reminded that women are complex, multi-dimensional human beings whose existence cannot be pinned down to just domestic labour and love.
The programme includes a public walkabout from 09h00 – 12h00 on 26 August, a professional learning opportunity in art photography for teachers, youth, students from local schools, artists, and photographers to hear more about this latest body of work presented by the exhibition curators.
The exhibition opens on Saturday, 5 August 2023 at 12h00 and runs until 31 August.
The art gallery, at corner 5th and 6th Avenues in Springs, is open weekdays from 09h00 – 16h00 for public viewing (closed on weekends and public holidays). This project forms part of the post-support intervention offered to beneficiaries of programmes created through a collaboration between the City’s SRAC Department and the Len Khumalo Foundation.
