Beneath The Surface is Steve Bloom’s first exhibition of photographs he took in the mid-1970s in South Africa, during apartheid. “This body of work is a reflection of South Africa at the point where unstoppable dissent was just beginning, and it culminated in South Africa’s first ever democratic election years later,” Steve Bloom tells La Lettre.
“As somebody who grew up in apartheid South Africa, I have seen the devastating consequences of institutionalised racism and believe it is essential that we remain vigilant and guard against the re-emergence of such a system. I hope that these pictures, with the stories behind them, serve as a reminder,” he says.
The International Defense and Aid Fund for South Africa first published some of Bloom’s pictures in 1977. As a result, the photographer was banned from South Africa, forced to live in London. Thirteen years passed before Bloom was allowed back in his native country.
“On a personal level, seeing the pictures exhibited again after decades of being stored in boxes, has transported me back to a time in my life more than thirty-five years ago. It has also been a pleasure to see grainy prints made from those old Tri-X black and white negatives; a poignant reminder of what we are losing forever in a world that has adopted the convenience of digital over the emotion of film.”
EXHIBITION
Beneath the Surface by Steve Bloom
June 01 to June 28, 2012
Guardian Gallery, Kings Place
90 Work Way
London N1 9GU
