CAROLINE SUZMAN is a photographic artist who has a special interest in portraiture. An arresting tension between vulnerability and self - declaration in her subjects is a signature element of her work.
Using both a documentary and a conceptual approach she layers her work with literary and allegorical elements to reflect on social themes such as the individual battling social, political and historical forces.
She studied photography at the Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg and English Literature and Photography at Rhodes University, South Africa.
Suzman began working professionally in 1995. Her photographs have been featured in numerous international publications including Polka Magazine,The Boston Globe, Elle Magazine, Marie Claire,The Guardian, Leadership Magazine, The Times (London), and Monocle.
In 1997 Suzman began documenting the changing South African political and physical landscape, exploring the subtext of heritage.
Her first book, Heartlands, is in production. The book is a culmination of 20 years of travel around South Africa exploring the often harrowing experience of land ownership in South Africa.
Selected publications
TAXI-008 (David Krut, 2003), Moving in Time: Images of Life in a Democratic South Africa (KMM Review Publishing, 2004) and Women by Women: 50 years of Women’s Photography in South Africa (Wits University Press, 2006)
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2023
Liewe Land (University of Johannesburg, 9- 12 August 2023) Curated by Dineke Ortin
I Declare I Am Here (Solo exhibition Turbine Art Fair, Hyde Park, Johannesburg, 27-30 July 2023) Curated by Professor Karel Nel
I Declare I Am Here (Solo exhibition Wits Art Museum, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 9 March - 13 May 2023)
2022
Heartlands, (Aardklop Arts Festival, Voortrekker Monument, Pretoria, October 2022) https://www.carolinesuzman.com/heartland-f Curated by Dineke Ortin
Selected works, (David Krut Projects,Parkwood, Johannesburg, 2022 - ongoing )Curated by Ame Bell
A New Wave (Graham Contemporary, Hyde Park, Johannesburg,2022)Curated by James Sey
2019
On Main Road ( Constitution Hill, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2019)Curated by Rita Potenza
2016
Group show (Klein Karoo National Arts Festival (KKNK),Oudtshoorn,Western Cape, 2016)Curated by Lucia Boer
2014
Umhlaba 1913-2013: Commemorating the 1913 Land Act ( Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, 2013 and Wits Art Museum, 2014) Curated by David Goldblatt
2007
Re - Vision (Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg, 2007), curated by Mary Jane Darroll
2004
Crossing Over - portraits from Israel and Gaza (Studio 23, Maboneng, Johannesburg 2004) https://www.carolinesuzman.com/crossing-over
2002
Bonani Africa-South Africa's Democratic Transition ( Museum Africa, Johannesburg, 2002)
1999
Lines of Sight: Perspectives in South African Photography (Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, 1999).
IN THE BEGINNING...
When I was six years old my parents gave me a Kodak cardboard box camera for my birthday. It took 2 1/4-inch square pictures on 117 roll film and I loved the chunkiness of it,
it was like a cube of magic. When National Geographic came in the mail, I poured over the photographs of far off lands with envy.
At 7, I found a book in my grandfather's library on Ansel Adams which taught me the importance of grace precision. I duly straightened my horizons. At the age of 8, photography broadened my horizons. At 9 I began to use photography to reflect on issues in a way that goes beyond the obvious, something that continues to bring me joy.
In general, I like working on long term projects which demand a grit and nuanced reflection. I consider every photograph an opportunity to challenge my vision and creativity.
Photographer Dewitt Lewis in a TED talk entitled, 'Celebrate what is right with the world!', talks about a compassionate way of looking at the universe. In 2009 photographing on the streets of San Francisco, I noticed a person with a tattoo on their back that said,
'Stay Human'. I think of those words when my alarm goes off at 4am and I grab my camera backpack and set out into the still dark world, pondering new ways to reflect on this electrifying ephemeral life.