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Celebrated South African photographer Alice Mann unveils the first UK exhibition of Drummies – her seminal, Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize-winning series of South African female drum majorette teams.
Now based in London, Mann presents her first London solo exhibition at David Hill Gallery in September, featuring previously unseen photographs from the series.
Alice spent four years photographing girls in Western Cape and Gauteng schools. Her joyful portraits capture the strength, confidence, and pride that is vital in communities where opportunities for young women are severely limited. Alice explains, “Drummies is part of my ongoing work exploring notions of femininity and empowerment in modern society.”
The New Yorker praised Mann, writing “Drummies retrofits the male-dominated genre of flashy sports photography to capture girls who are mostly from low-income families in the townships.”
“What stands out is the confidence in gaze and posture of the girls photographed. This can be seen across all age groups and speaks as much to the girls’ personalities as it does to how Mann succeeds in building a relationship with the people she photographs.” - Christine Eyene, Art Critic
“There are so many images coming from a particular viewpoint, which is often a male, Eurocentric, westernised viewpoint – it’s important that we make this broader and more inclusive.” - Alice Mann
n 2018, when Mann was just 27 years old, Drummies won the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. Mann had entered four images from Drummies, which led to the first time a series had won in the prize’s history. As a result, all four winning images were exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, they then won the Grand Prix of the Jury for photography at Hyères in 2019, and Alice’s Drummies were nominated for the 2019 Sony World Photography Awards and consequently exhibited at Somerset House.
From 19 September, the David Hill Gallery presents the first opportunity to see Drummies exhibited in the UK and includes previously unseen images from the series. Produced in association with Afronova Gallery, Johannesburg.
“Dazzling” – CNN
“Alice Mann’s most magical project to date.” – The Cut
“David Hill Gallery has an eye for meaningful, yet often overlooked and unseen works representative of cultural and political shifts.” – SHOWstudio
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ALICE MANN (b.1991) is a South African photographic artist whose intimate portraiture essays explore notions of picture making as an act of collaboration. She aims to create images that empower her subjects and creates projects over extended periods, allowing for engaged and nuanced representations. Her work has been exhibited internationally at numerous group shows at Red Hook Labs (NYC), Unseen Photo Fair (Amsterdam), The National Portrait Gallery and Somerset House (London), Addis Foto Fest (Addis Ababa), the International Centre of Photography (NYC) as well as at art fairs such as 1:54 London, and Paris Photo Fair. Drummies by Alice Mann was published by GOST Books in November 2021. Mann’s personal and commissioned work has been published internationally including The Guardian, The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Artsy, The British Journal of Photography, and National Geographic.
DAVID HILL GALLERY shows established and lesser-known photographers, with an emphasis on previously unshown work. Exhibitions include the first solo show outside of West Africa of Sanlé Sory’s vibrant portraiture. Mario Carnicelli’s sharply observed mid-1960s American street photography also debuted at the gallery, along with Hunter Barnes’ extraordinary work documenting the over-looked margins of American society. Previous shows include Burt Glinn's coverage of the Cuban Revolution, Bill Bernstein’s Disco work, and George Rodger's recently unearthed 1940s colour photographs of Southern Sudan's tribes.
DAVID HILL GALLERY shows established and lesser-known photographers, with an emphasis on previously unshown work. Exhibitions include the first solo show outside of West Africa of Sanlé Sory’s vibrant portraiture. Mario Carnicelli’s sharply observed mid-1960s American street photography also debuted at the gallery, along with Hunter Barnes’ extraordinary work documenting the over-looked margins of American society. Previous shows include Burt Glinn's coverage of the Cuban Revolution, Bill Bernstein’s Disco work, and George Rodger's recently unearthed 1940s colour photographs of Southern Sudan's tribes.
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