Andrew Tshabangu

Andrew Tshabangu’s work is a response to the negative and sometimes violent images of black people that he has seen in the media. He is keen to portray other aspects of township life that and not to perpetuate the usual stereotypes of black South Africans. His response has been to develop a long-term project on back spirituality looking at independent churches where you can see a fusion of European Christianity with elements of African rituals like dance, singing and drumming.

This is now a collaboration with the photographer Rene-Paul Savignan whose work is also included in the Festival programme.

Andrew Tshabangu was born in 1966 in Soweto. He studied journalism and has taught at the Market Photo Workshop. As a photographer he is renowned for his black and white atmospheric photographs that give a mystical quality to his work.


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