Photograph captures Oliver Tambo amidst funeral for victims of raid
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In Johannesburg, South Africa, an exhibition at the Standard Bank Art Gallery features a photograph by Anjith Kally depicting the late ANC president Oliver Tambo walking among coffins at a mass funeral.
The photograph memorializes 42 people killed by the South African Defence Force during a 1982 raid into Maseru, Lesotho, including 30 South African political refugees and 12 Basotho nationals.
Kally’s image contrasts with media portrayals of freedom fighters as terrorists by showing Tambo as a grieving man concerned with the victims of brutality. The exhibition also includes a portrait of Dr. Fabian Ribeiro, a doctor gunned down by police for providing medical care to activists, painted by Andrew Motjuwadi. The Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) curated the “Homecoming” exhibition with Standard Bank as a way to display its collection while the gallery undergoes renovations. Curators Khwezi Gule and Dr.
Same Mdluli organized the exhibition to connect historical artwork with modern civic life, and to encourage residents to explore the city's history. The exhibition also displays works by European artists like Paul Cézanne and Vincent Van Gogh alongside South African painters, reflecting the JAG’s goal of presenting Johannesburg as a modern city with a diverse artistic heritage. The exhibition will remain open to the public until October 31.
