This substantial exhibition revisits Cole’s ground-breaking project House of Bondage
This summer, The Photographers’ Gallery presents Ernest Cole: House of Bondage, on show from 14 June – 22 September 2024, considered to be one of the most important chroniclers of the brutal reality of apartheid in South Africa. Through his work, Cole revealed the violence and injustice of apartheid to the world.
In 1966 Cole fled South Africa and smuggled out his photographs, settling in New York. House of Bondage was published in 1967, vividly documenting the everyday life of the Black population in South Africa and revealing the brutality of apartheid to the world. It became one of the most significant photobooks of the twentieth century.
In more than 100 photographs, the exhibition covers all 15 thematic chapters into which Cole has divided House of Bondage and also includes works from the chapter Black Ingenuity, which was not published in the original edition of the book. The exhibition will also feature early original prints, personal documents, original editions, ephemera and filmed interviews with Cole.
Ernest Cole: House of Bondage is realised in collaboration with Magnum Photos. Curated by Anne-Marie Beckmann and Andrea Holzherr and adapted for The Photographers’ Gallery by Karen McQuaid, Senior Curator. This exhibition is supported by Cockayne Grants for the Arts, a donor-advised fund held at The London Community Foundation.
In 2022, House of Bondage was re-released by Aperture with an additional chapter. The book is available to buy in the Gallery shop.
Ernest Cole: A Lens in Exile at Autograph: 13 June - 12 October 2024
Explore more of Ernest Cole's work in Ernest Cole: A Lens in Exile at Autograph. The first exhibition of Cole's photographs documenting New York City during the height of the civil rights movement in America. Further Information: autograph.org.uk
Further Information: Ernest Cole: House of Bondage | The Photographers Gallery