Lebohang Kganye

At first glance, the works of the South African artist Lebohang Kganye just look like old photographs of a young woman. But they seem to have been double exposed: the woman appears twice in some pictures. If we take a closer look, we notice that this is in fact a different person. She seems to imitate the first woman, but looks like a half-invisible, ghostly apparition, a shadow.

Kganye created the series Ke Lefa Laka: Her-story following her mother’s death. After looking at old family albums with her grandmother, the artist began to recreate the photographs of her mother. She wore her mother’s clothes, copied her gestures, and took photos of herself in similar poses. She then combined the old and new photographs to create fresh images.

In this way, two periods in time come together in a single photograph. Mother and daughter appear side by side. They seem close to one another, yet remain apart.

The works evoke memories of encounters that are not actually possible, almost like a conversation between the past and the present. The artist did not intend to copy her mother as accurately as possible. The differences between them remain visible.

Many of us have probably looked at old family photographs and wondered what life was like for the people seen there. How can we form a connection to people who are no longer here?

Kganye explores precisely this question. She tries to come closer to her mother. In the process, memory does not appear as a fixed entity. Instead, we constantly recreate it through pictures, stories, and the experiences we pass down from one generation to the next.

At the same time, the artist makes reference to South Africa’s history, which continues to shape many families’ lives to this day. Personal memories and the evolution of society closely intertwine in her work.