Mathilde Mujanayi, Ahmed Khirelsid, and Lindokuhle Sobekwa are three contemporary photographers whose ongoing projects represent the time of great unrest in their home countries. These projects are personal reflections of the photographers’ realities in their countries of origin, as they record physical, emotional, and psychological tragedies relying on memory.
Lindokuhle Sobekwa, I carry Her photo with Me, 2017–ongoing
South African artist Lindokuhle Sobekwa was born in 1995 in Katlehong. Sobekwa is from a generation of South African photographers “born free” after the first democratic elections in 1994. His practice provides the space for personal contemplation and the wider political reflection in South Africa. He has received several prizes and grants, including the 2023 FNB Art Prize. Most recently, Sobekwa’s ongoing project, “I carry Her photo with Me”, was shortlisted for the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation 2025.
“I carry Her photo with Me” is a deeply personal project that combines photographs, handwritten notes, and family snapshots. In this series, Sobekwa explores the memory of his older sister, Ziyanda, who disappeared for a decade only to return very ill. At the time of her return, he had become a photographer interested in documenting subjects dear to him. When he tried to take her portrait, she reacted angrily. Ziyanda died soon after.
The project, which began when Sobekwa discovered a family portrait with the late Ziyanda’s face cut out, has since expanded to investigate the broader implications of such disappearances, which remains a troubling aspect of South Africa’s history. The work is part of his wider practice on fragmentation, poverty, and the long-reaching ramifications of apartheid and colonialism across all levels of South African society.
Ahmed Khirelsid, Under Control, 2024
Born in 2001 in Omdurman, Sudan, Ahmed Khirelsid is a photographer and visual storyteller who focuses on capturing the realities of life in his country. His photography journey began during the Sudanese revolution. His work has been exhibited in Ireland, Hamburg, Johannesburg, Khartoum, and London. Khirelsid is the recipient of this year’s edition of The Daniele Tamagni Grant and the 2024 CAP Prize winner for his ongoing project “Under Control.“
“Under Control” is a personal project that documents his experience of being forced to leave his family home in April as war had broken out in Khartoum and his attempts to adapt to this new situation. Through this work, they try to explore and understand the psychological and emotional trauma received as a result of this war, as well as those around them. It is both a commentary on the mental state they are going through during this challenging time and also indirectly a political commentary on the news and propaganda. Death, violence, political and economic instability, upheaval, and doubt have become inherent to the Sudanese people in the last five years, from the revolution to the pandemic to the military coup in 2021. It is a time of waiting and uncertainty.
Mathilde Mujanayi, As Close As I Can Get To You, 2023 – ongoing
Mathilde Mujanayi is a Congolese photo-based, interdisciplinary artist living in Baltimore, Maryland. Her works border on personal and universal experiences, and her practice relies on introspection. Having immigrated to the United States at the age of nine from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mujanayi identifies as a first-generation immigrant. Through self-exploration, she not only investigates her identity as a queer immigrant but these investigations turn into cultural critiques/annotations of the environment around her. She has exhibited in shows in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland. She is one of the recipients of the 2024 Google and Aperture Creator Labs Photo Fund.
In her latest project, “As Close As I Can Get To You,” Mujanayi brings together self-portraits, still lifes, and staged scenes, as she navigates her identity as an immigrant and a woman who has lived in America for the past twelve years. “As Close As I Can Get To You” is a series of photographic and moving image works in which Mujanayi utilizes her faded memories of home, intermixed with her anxiety and shame around the topic– to not only mourn her native identity, but to showcase her disconnections from her mother, her culture, and her home. “How can I close the distance between my land and I, my identity and I, my mother and I?” asks Mujanayi. “What acts can I perform to get me close to that?” Rather than having a conclusive, definite idea or resolution, her work examines and documents the feelings encompassing an experience. Mujanayi’s practice aims to bring more nuance to apathetic-led narratives surrounding migrants.
Iyanuoluwa Adenle is a Nigerian art writer, essayist, and poet based in Lagos. She is currently the head writer at Omenai. Adenle has contributed to a number of art publications, including Tender Photo, Art News Africa, Pavillon 54, and Omenai.
