In 1980s South Africa, a young photographer, Gideon Mendel, documented the struggle against apartheid. In 1990, before leaving the country, he stored his negatives in Johannesburg.

Years later, these images — damaged by humidity — were returned to him. Their state of decay came to embody a broader reality: that of collective memory and political commitments that fade or transform over time.

Through a process of reframing and reprinting, the artist gives new life to these fragments of history. Damage becomes both a personal and universal work, where traces of the past and marks of chance reveal the fragility and resilience of memory.

As part of the GLAZ Festival 2025
https://glaz-festival.com/