New Works by Zwelethu Mthethwa (review)
Now approaching his second decade of fine arts practice, Zwelethu Mthethwa continues to use color photography and artist-subject collaborations to restore the dignity of his sitters. New Works at the Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City, consisting of seventeen digital C-prints from The End of an Era (2010), The Brave Ones (2010), and Hope Chest (2012), represents the work of an artist whose images have become iconic in both postapartheid South Africa and the international art world. The End of an Era’s still lifes attest to the grooming habits, romances, and interests of Zimbabwean and Mozambican migrants who trek between hostels seeking better-paying jobs in South Africa. Hope Chest continues the concept of an absent presence by capturing the relationships women form with the chests and goods given to them as brides. In The Brave Ones Mthethwa uses his signature portraiture to consider the Iscotch, youthful followers of the Shembe religion identifiable by their mix of European and Zulu sartorial traditions.