Noorderlicht

Biography

Emakhaya (2000-2004)

‘A home away from home’, is what Emakhaya means in Zulu. It is a word that refers to the many migrants who leave the countryside to work in the cities, who only return to their families and loved ones during holidays. Andrew Tshanbangu went in the opposite direction. In order to get to know  what life in a rural community was like, together with a migrant from Soweto he left the city to visit the man's village, Venda. Tshanbangu discovered that the rural areas have many problems, including the absence of the breadwinners, underdeveloped infrastructure, poverty and the loss of agrarian  traditions. ‘But despite everything, the people from Emakhaya were the most warm-hearted folk that I have ever met.’

Andrew Tshanbangu (South Africa, 1966) was born in Soweto and lives in Johannesburg. He learned his trade as a photographer at the Alexandra Community Art Centre in Johannesburg, and has taught at various workshops in South Africa and other countries. His work is known for the atmospheric light that gives his images a mystic dimension.