Guy Tillim

Guy Tillim , born in 1962 in Johannesburg, is a major figure in the contemporary South African photographic scene. The HCB Foundation is pleased to organize his first solo exhibition in France and to present two key series of his work: Jo'burg and his latest work Avenue Patrice Lumumba.

As a young reporter in the 1980s, Guy Tillim realized that photography could be a way to fight against the racial abyss that Apartheid had created in his country: "The camera was the ideal tool to transcend these borders, to see what was happening in my own country. Over the years, Tillim has produced documentary work of undeniable visual and historical power, bearing witness to the social conflict and inequalities that prevailed there. In his images, harsh, dark colors emerge from a wet gray background, in imitative harmony with the harshness of his subjects. His work has been widely published in the press and in numerous books - and exhibited in prestigious festivals and group shows in Europe in recent years, including Africa Remix in 2004, PHotoEspaña in 2005 and Dokumenta XII in 2007. The two series presented at the HCB Foundation are composed of color photographs; each one is presented on a different level and set in space by the author. Petros Village and Congo Democratic, two emblematic works made in 2006, will also be on display.