'30 Years the Occupants' Walks Through SA's Resilience

Photo Credit: Robben Island Prison Key—Supplied

Matthew Willman is a renowned photographer who captured many incredible photographs of Nelson Mandela. Now, his works are being showcased in the ’30 Years the Occupants’ exhibition—a collection of art and pictures that are walking visitors through South Africa’s resilience both in the past and for the future:

Cape Town, South Africa (13 May 2024) — South Africa’s rich tapestry of history, marked by trauma, resilience, and triumphs, continues to be woven through the art of storytelling. Focusing on South Africa’s narrative since 1994, art and photographic exhibition ’30 Years the Occupants’ is walking visitors through collective memories of our country and moments that encapsulate our resilience; set to inspire resilience for our future.

On show until 31 May at Cape Town’s HUB Gallery, ’30 Years the Occupants’ brings together a collection of photo essays from the fantastic Matthew Willman’s alongside other works.

Matthew Willman is a renowned documentary and fine art photographer originally from Durban whose creativity was heavily shaped by his childhood during the latter years of apartheid and Nelson Mandela’s ‘walk to freedom’.

As a commissioned photographer for the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Willman went on to capture South Africa’s democratic shift. This afforded him many intimate experiences with the man whom, for Willman, ‘embodied the very spirit and conviction we all possess as Africans in the world today.’

The ‘Mandela Heritage Collection’ features a series of photographs taken over a number of years that capture Mandela, his journey, and key elements of the struggle, including images ‘Freedom Charter’ – ZK Matthews’s handwritten Freedom Charter – and ‘Rivonia Trial Notes’ – historic documents (unavailable to the public) from the infamous Rivonia Trial which saw Nelson Mandela and eight others sentenced to life in prison. The photographic essay also includes portraits of Mandela taken by Willman during his time with the legendary figure.

Willman’s thought-provoking works bring us back to the beginnings of our democracy and the resilience that brought us to it.

The photographic essay will appear alongside a curated collection of around 20 photographs, paintings, mixed-media artworks and textile pieces from the Spier Collection that narrate an interconnected story of national memory and experience. Here, artworks from renowned artists like John Murray, Billie Zangewa, Thandiwe Msebenzi, Sue Williamson, Ayana V Jackson and Cinga Samson will be featured in a collection that engages with the ‘Mandela Heritage Collection’ in a thought-provoking way.

Together, these works, as well as their appreciation, use the power of storytelling as a tool to recognise experience, representing both voices and silences. This exhibition considers the stories of our past, those of our present and the possibilities imagined for our future – inviting audiences to think carefully about their own internal perspectives of South Africa’s narratives.