Fotograf Magazine

There is a feeling of nostalgia that overcomes oneself when looking at ANDYMKOSI’s photography. It is like flipping through pages of a family album of many years. Each picture reminds us of home. Whether it is a photograph of a father and his daughters getting ready for school in the morning or a portrait of Andy’s mother sitting on the couch, every image illustrates how closely tied the theme of home is to Andy’s work.

ANDYMKOSI mostly photographs in black and white – which is a conscious decision by the photographer. Her collection consists of images of Langa, her hometown, which is reminiscent of Larry Clark’s photographs of his own hometown, Tulsa, as well as portraits of family, friends and sometimes strangers. She takes real-time pictures without staging or posing in order to capture the true and real essence of the subjects within the frame. Additionally, she plays around with themes that are associated with the South-African identity such as Blackness, family ties, lineage, and African spirituality, all wrapped into one black-and-white photograph.

Often, black and white images somehow manage to communicate feelings in a way that colour photography simply cannot, be it nostalgia, sadness or yearning. Oddly enough, ANDYMKOSI’s work does illustrate elements of nostalgia and yearning but never sadness. A prime example is Andy’s body of work depicting her brothers’ coming of age/initiation ceremony, which is nothing short of Black joy. Taken in the summer of 2022, every frame consists of happy shots of the family, friends and the ceremony attendees all smiling and dancing – which is not the type of imagery of African people that is often shown in the media. It is as if she is changing the narrative of what African imagery is and how it can be portrayed here and internationally. She is constantly evolving and her work embodies that. She stays true to herself and it is her versatility that makes her photography special. All images are unique and valuable, like a photograph framed away in a family album.

ANDYMKOSI is a creative entrepreneur, educating artist and cultural practitioner. In 2019, she founded a now award-winning podcast, This Audio is Visual. She has worked with Puma SA, StandardBank, Nomzamo Mbatha, Bae Electronica, The Forge, and African Centre For Cities, to name a few. In 2020, her photo series MIDGROOVE was selected for the This Is Gender Global Photography Competition by Global Health 50/50.

Tshepiso Moropa is an interdisciplinary artist and writer who works in photography, film and installation.

Tshepiso Moropa