event

Opening Ernest Cole
House of Bondage

Foam proudly presents the first overview of the work of South African photographer Ernest Cole. The exhibition includes parts of his archive, which had long been considered lost. As one of the first Black freelance photographers, Cole offered with his work an unprecedented view from the inside. Born in a township, Cole experienced the strains of apartheid first-hand.

The exhibition will be opened on Thursday 26 January in the presence of Leslie Matlaisane and James Sanders, representatives of the Ernest Cole Family Trust. You are welcome from 17.30 to 21.00 hrs at Foam. Register for free.

Ernest Cole
House of Bondage

The exhibition includes parts of his archive, which had long been considered lost. The overview was assembled in collaboration with the Ernest Cole Family Trust, which in 2017 secured control of Cole’s archive. Cole is celebrated for his tireless documentation of Black lives in South Africa under apartheid: a regime of institutionalised racial segregation that was in effect from 1948 to the early 1990s.

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South Africa, 1960s © Ernest Cole / Magnum Photos

This exhibition was made in collaboration with the Ernest Cole Family Trust and Magnum Photos.

The exhibition opens in tandem with the launch of two volumes published by Aperture: the first republication of House of Bondage, and the second presenting the US work for the first time in history.

Foam is supported by the VriendenLoterij, Foam Members, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, the VandenEnde Foundation and the City of Amsterdam.


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Opening Ernest Cole
House of Bondage