"Oswenka/Swankers of Jeppe Hostel in Johannesburg"
Photographic exhibit
by TJ Lemon.
Sound installation by John Bower.
Curated by Louise Meintjes.
March 19 - April 7, 2004
New Media Space, John Hope Franklin Center
Artists' Lunch Conversation
Friday, March 19, 2004 :: 12:00 PM
240 Franklin Center
Opening Reception
Friday, March 19, 2004 :: 8:00 - 10:00 PM
New Media Space, Franklin Center
A Saturday night at a Johannesburg’s workers’ hostel. In the tradition of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, scores of men dance and sing in a capella choirs in an all-night competition. In the break between the music performances, migrant Zulu men—swankers—in three-piece suits and two-tone shoes, with cufflinks to match the bands of their porkpie hats are strutting and swirling in a fancy-dress competition. South African photojournalist TJ Lemon has documented the swankers’ performances and lives. Lemon received a First Prize in the 2001 World Press Awards (Arts Story Category) and the Mohammad Amin Photographic Award in the CNN African Journalist of the Year competition for “Oswenka.” He has worked as a photojournalist in South Africa since the mid 1980s, documenting the struggle from days of intense repression, protest and formidable violence through to the present. He is currently chief photographer for the Sunday Independent in Johannesburg.
Artist John Bower has composed a sound installation to accompany the exhibition. Bower is a composer of contemporary music for traditional instruments, electronics and their combination. His works have been presented in Boston, San Francisco, Buffalo, Durham, and Chapel Hill. He is currently pursuing his PhD in Music at Duke University. For this show, he has made a sound installation blending electronically created ideas with field recordings made in South Africa by ethnomusicologist Louise Meintjes. His work integrates the sounds of competitions in progress (leather soles on concrete, shouts of the MC, singing of choirs, talk from the audience) with electronic gestures of industrial and reverberant environments.
The Franklin Center acknowledges the support of the Duke University Center for International Studies, the Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs, and the Duke Institute of the Arts, with funding from the Nancy Hanks Artist Residency Endowment.
For more information, contact Rob Sikorski, r.sikorski@duke.edu or 919.684.2867