Phumzile Khanyile
Phumzile Khanyile (born 1991) is a South African photographer, living in Johannesburg. Her series Plastic Crowns is about women's lives and sexual politics. The series has been shown in group exhibitions at the Palace of the Dukes of Cadaval in Evora, Portugal; Iziko South African National Gallery in Cape Town; and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia; and was a winner of the CAP Prize for Contemporary African Photography.
Phumzile Khanyile
- Name
- Phumzile Khanyile
- Born
- 1991
- Birthplace
- Tladi, Soweto, South Africa
- Occupation
- Photographer
- Nationality
- South Africa
- Languages
- English
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Phumzile Khanyile (born 1991) is a South African photographer, living in Johannesburg. Her series Plastic Crowns is about women's lives and sexual politics. The series has been shown in group exhibitions at the Palace of the Dukes of Cadaval in Evora, Portugal; Iziko South African National Gallery in Cape Town; and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia; and was a winner of the CAP Prize for Contemporary African Photography.
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Phumzile Khanyile (born 1991) is a South African photographer. The photographer was born in Soweto. Languages used include English.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Phumzile Khanyile • Born — 1991 • Birthplace — Tladi, Soweto, South Africa • Occupation — Photographer
Early life and education
Early life and education
Khanyile was born in Tladi, Soweto, South Africa. She studied photography at the Market Photo Workshop from 2013.
Life and work
Life and work
Plastic Crowns is a series of self-portraits while dressed in her grandmother's clothes, with whom she lives. The series is concerned with the female experience of relations between the sexes, in terms of power. It is "an exploration of shame, and an unpacking of the expectations Khanyile inherited from her grandmother about what it means to be a woman" —"stereotypical ideas of gender, sexual preference and related stigmas and their relevance in contemporary society". It employs a snapshot aesthetic, "as if they're from a private journal", "raw and out-of-focus [...] as much from the family album snapshot as the rough urban glamour of postwar Japanese photography". Plastic Crowns came about through Khanyile spending a lot of time indoors, having been too "scared to leave her house since she was attacked on the streets." Khanyile and Nkosinathi Khumalo direct the Johannesburg project space Zulu Republik.
Solo exhibitions
Solo exhibitions
• Plastic Crowns, Market Photo Workshop, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2017
Group exhibitions
Group exhibitions
• African Passions, Palace of the Dukes of Cadaval, Evora Africa (African art and music festival), Evora, Portugal, 2018. Curated by André Magnin (curator) and Philippe Boutté. Included work from Plastic Crowns. • Not the Usual Suspects, Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa, 2018/2019. A tribute to the Market Photo Workshop. Included work from Plastic Crowns. • NGV Triennial, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, 2020/2021. Included work from Plastic Crowns.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1991
Phumzile Khanyile born at Soweto.
Publications by Khanyile
Publications by Khanyile
• Plastic Crowns. Johannesburg: Market Photo Workshop.
Publications with contributions by Khanyile
Publications with contributions by Khanyile
• Afrotopia. Paris: Dilecta, 2017. Ministère de la Culture du Mali; Institut Français. With texts by Marie-Ann Yemsi, Felwine Sarr, Thulie Gamedze, Cédric Aurelle.. Published on the occasion of African Photography Encounters, Bamako, Mali, 2017/2018. • Paris Nude. By Mary McCartney. London: HENI, 2019.. • Africa State of Mind: Contemporary Photography Reimagines a Continent. London: Thames & Hudson, 2020..
Awards
• 2015: Gisèle Wulfsohn Mentorship in Photography, from the Market Photo Workshop and the family and friends of Wulfsohn. Mentorship with Ayana V. Jackson. • 2018: 1 of 5 winners, CAP Prize for Contemporary African Photography, for Plastic Crowns
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Contemporary African Photography Prize winners announced. British Journal of Photography.
- 2.Platform Africa. Aperture. 227. 2017.
- 3.Sapeurs, self-portraits and silks: African contemporary arts – in pictures. The Guardian. 8 August 2018. 0261-3077.
- 4.When the photographer turns the camera on herself. TimesLIVE.
- 5.Phumzile Khanyile: Plastic Crowns. omenkaonline.com. 8 February 2017.
- 6.Almino, Elisa Wouk. Learning Political Lessons at the 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair. Hyperallergic. 4 May 2017.
- 7.Stephens, Andrew. NGV Triennial gets under the skin with contemporary African visions. The Age. 4 December 2020.
- 8.Gosling, Emily. Identity and Speculation Are at the Heart of This Brave Australian Triennial. Elephant. 17 December 2020.
- 9.Aesthetica Magazine - Celebrating Tradition. Aesthetica Magazine.
- 10.Our Ten Favorite Pieces at Frieze and Beyond. Vice. 6 October 2019.
- 11.Farago, Jason. Five Artists to Follow on Instagram Now. The New York Times. 15 April 2020. 0362-4331.
- 12.Celebrating the collective consciousness of contemporary African photography. Hero magazine.
- 13.Photo Workshop Gallery. Artforum.
- 14.Plastic Crowns. Market Photo Workshop. 23 February 2017.
- 15.Evora Africa: crossing continents. Financial Times.
- 16.African Passions: Beyond Geography, History and Bodies. Elephant. 31 May 2018.
- 17.Not the Usual Suspects. Vogue Italia. 24 January 2019.
- 18.Living, Breathing Past: 'Not the Usual Suspects' at ISANG. ArtThrob.
- 19.2015 Gisèle Wulfsohn Mentorship Recipient. Market Photo Workshop. 8 March 2016.
- 20.Blignaut, Charl. What does the new wave of African photography say about us?. News24.
References
Citations
References
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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