Africa through the lens

The winning work from the third annual POPCAP photography competition celebrates new visions of Africa.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
In the photographic series The Last Generation Joana Choumali presents portraits of the “last generation” of scarified people in Abidjan. Image: Joana Choumali.
In the photographic series "The Last Generation" Joana Choumali presents portraits of the last generation of scarified people in Abidjan. Image: Joana Choumali.
"'Hââbré' is the same word for writing/scarification” in Kô language from Burkina Faso. Scarification is the practice of performing a superficial incision in the human skin," she explains. Image: Joana Choumali.
"'Hââbré' in the Kô language from Burkina Faso means both writing and scarification. Scarification is the practice of performing a superficial incision in the human skin," she explains. Image: Joana Choumali.
According to Choumali the practice is disappearing due to the pressure of religion and state authorities, urban practices and the introduction of clothing in tribes. Image: Joana Choumali.
According to Choumali the traditional practice is disappearing due to the pressure of religion and state authorities, urbanisation and the introduction of clothing among tribes. Image: Joana Choumali.
"This 'last generation' of people bearing the imprint of the past on their faces, went from being the norm and having a high social value to being somewhat excluded," she says. Image: Joana Choumali.
"This 'last generation' of people bearing the imprint of the past on their faces went from being the norm and having a high social value to being somewhat excluded," she says. Image: Joana Choumali.
9A, a local rapper, poses for photographer Léonard Pongo after a concert at the French institute. From "The Uncanny", 2013. Image: Léonard Pongo.
9A, a rapper from the Democratic Republic of Congo, poses for photographer Léonard Pongo after a concert at the French institute. From "The Uncanny", 2013. Image: Léonard Pongo.
"The Uncanny" is a documentary project that has been conducted in Democratic Republic of Congo since the political elections held in Autumn 2011. Image: Léonard Pongo.
"The Uncanny" is a documentary project that has been conducted in the DRC since the political elections held in Autumn 2011. Image: Léonard Pongo.
The project aims to show the collateral impact of the war instead of the direct hits. Image: Léonard Pongo.
The project aims to show the collateral impact of the war instead of the direct hits. Image: Léonard Pongo.
For this project, "I am Walé Respect Me", Patrick Willocq dove deeply into an initiation ritual of the Ekonda pygmies in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Image: Patrick Willocq.
For his project, "I am Walé Respect Me", Patrick Willocq chose to illustrate various scenarios taken from the songs sung by the women of the Ekonda pygmies in the DRC. He dove deeply into the customs and traditions around their initiation ritual for the project. Image: Patrick Willocq.
According to Willocq the Ekondas believe that the most important moment in the life of a woman is the birth of her first child. The young mother known as "Walé" goes into a period of seclusion and abstains from sex for 2 to 5 years. at the end of this period is marked by a singing and dancing ritual. Image: Patrick Willocq.
According to Willocq, the Ekondas believe that the most important moment in the life of a woman is the birth of her first child. The young mother, known as "Walé", goes into a period of seclusion and abstains from sex for two to five years. The end of this period is marked by a singing and dancing ritual. Image: Patrick Willocq.
"The ritual of the Walé woman has resisted the pressures of modern life — but for how long? To document this beautiful tribute to motherhood, fertility and femininity, I proposed to some Walés to participate in staged photographs. Each set-up worked as a visual representation of one of the subjects that the Walé would sing about on the day of her release from seclusion. You are, in essence, watching a song," explains Willocq. Image: Patrick Willocq.
"The ritual of the Walé woman has resisted the pressures of modern life — but for how long? To document this beautiful tribute to motherhood, fertility and femininity, I proposed to some Walés to participate in staged photographs. Each set-up worked as a visual representation of one of the subjects that the Walé would sing about on the day of her release from seclusion. You are, in essence, watching a song," explains Willocq. Image: Patrick Willocq.
Twenty years after the genocide in Rwanda, during which almost one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were murdered, photographer Anoek Steketee and journalist and filmmaker Eefje Blankevoort present Love Radio – Episodes of love and hate, a multimedia project about the complex process of reconciliation, based on a popular radio soap. Image: Stekeete and Blankevoort.
Twenty years after the genocide in Rwanda, during which almost one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were murdered, photographer Anoek Steketee and journalist and filmmaker Eefje Blankevoort present "Love Radio – Episodes of Love and Hate", a multimedia project about the complex process of reconciliation, based on a popular radio soap. Image: Stekeete and Blankevoort.
In an effort to prevent new outbreaks of violence, radio soap Musekeweya (‘New Dawn’) was created by NGO Radio La Benevolencija ten years ago. On the same frequency that in 1994 incited Hutu gangs to kill, Musekeweya today broadcasts a message of reconciliation. Image: Stekeete and Blankevoort.
In an effort to prevent new outbreaks of violence, radio soap "Musekeweya" (New Dawn) was created by NGO Radio La Benevolencija ten years ago. On the same frequency that in 1994 incited Hutu gangs to kill, Musekeweya today broadcasts a message of reconciliation. Image: Stekeete and Blankevoort.
"The project straddles the boundary between fact and fiction," says Stekeete and Blankevoort. "The camera is used not only to raise social issues, but also as a tool for the imagination." Image: Stekeete and Blankevoort.
"The project straddles the boundary between fact and fiction," says Stekeete and Blankevoort. "The camera is used not only to raise social issues, but also as a tool for the imagination." Image: Stekeete and Blankevoort.
The POPCAP exhibition is shown in public spaces across the globe and has already travelled to Dublin, Switzerland and Nigeria.
The POPCAP exhibition is shown in public spaces across the globe and has already traveled to Dublin, Switzerland and Nigeria.
The exhibition will be on show in The Paddocks at the Company's Gardens in Cape Town until 17 October 2014.
The exhibition is on show in The Paddocks at the Company's Gardens in Cape Town until 17 October 2014.
In "Legacy of the Mine" South African photographer Ilan Godfrey surfaces countless stories of personal suffering and the legacy of ‘the mine’ is revealed. Image: Ilan Godfrey.
In "Legacy of the Mine" South African photographer Ilan Godfrey surfaces countless stories of personal suffering and the legacy of the mine is revealed. Image: Ilan Godfrey.
"‘The mine’, irrespective of the particular minerals extracted, is central in understanding societal change across the country and evidently comparable to mining concerns around the world. This enabled me to channel my conception of ‘the mine’ into visual representations that gave agency to these forgotten communities," says Godfrey. Image: Ilan Godfrey.
"The mine, irrespective of the particular minerals extracted, is central in understanding societal change across the country and evidently comparable to mining concerns around the world. This enabled me to channel my conception of ‘the mine’ into visual representations that gave agency to these forgotten communities," says Godfrey. Image: Ilan Godfrey.
The suburb of Diamanthoogte (Diamond Heights) is home to a predominantly coloured community that lives on the outskirts of the diamond-mining town of Koffiefontein in the Free State province. During the summer months children enjoy swimming in the canals, which they refer to as the ‘Long Sea’. Image: Ilan Godfrey.
The suburb of Diamanthoogte (Diamond Heights) is home to a predominantly coloured community that lives on the outskirts of the diamond-mining town of Koffiefontein in the Free State province. During the summer months children enjoy swimming in the canals, which they refer to as the ‘Long Sea’. Image: Ilan Godfrey.
Previous Pause Next

This year’s winners of the piclet.org Prize for Contemporary African Photography (POPCAP) come from Ivory Coast, South Africa, Belgium, the Netherlands and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They photograph in diverse ways: to uncover the human suffering of the mining industry in South Africa, explore the complex process of reconciliation 20 years after the Rwandan genocide, document waning cultural traditions in Burkina Faso and even reconstruct them among a group of pygmies in the DRC. 

The prize, presented by the online photography directory, aims to raise the profile of African photography in the arts and provide more publicity for artists engaging with the African continent.

“Due to its extensive application in a day-to-day context, we consider photography to be the ideal medium through which to foster an unhindered exchange of ideas about the image of Africa,” says piclet.org founder Benjamin Füglister.

Piclet.org represents a curated showcase of photographers' portfolios and facilitates online networking, complementing these with “real world” events such as the POPCAP exhibition.

The traveling exhibition, which has already been in Switzerland, Germany and Ireland, takes photography out of the confines of the gallery and presents it in a public space to encourage broader engagement and conversation.

The exhibition is on show in the Company’s Gardens in Cape Town as part of Cape Town Month of Photography and will run until 17 October before moving on to the LagosPhoto Festival in Nigeria.

Flip through our Lookbook above to see some of the winning work.