Ponte City
LE BAL presents the last and epic project of the South-African photographer Mikhael Subotzky and the artist Patrick Waterhouse, around a single Johannesburg building, Ponte City
Ponte City has been the symbol of prosperity under apartheid and white supremacy, of the collapse of the city center in the 1990s, and finally of the multi-ethnic renewal in this new century : it has witnessed the throes of a never-ending changing society.
This exhibition will gather documents (maps, brochures, press clippings…) from the utopian time of the erection of the building, images and vernacular texts which have been abandoned by generations of migrants coming from all over Africa, recurring architectural elements of the 40 floors and more intimate, poetic and day-to-day photographs.
The show, co-produced with the FOMU in Antwerp, will be accompanied by a book, PONTE CITY, published by Steidl.
In the Press
The project Ponte City received the award "Prix de la découverte" from the Rencontres Internationales d’Arles in 2011
Exhibition co-produced with FoMu (Anvers) with the support of Champagne Henriot.
In collaboration with the Goodman Gallery (Cape Town) and Magnum Photos.
Media partners : France Culture, Artpress, Parisart, Polka, TimeOut Paris.
Le Bal is thankful to : FoMu, Les Editions Seitdl, Goodman Gallery, Subotzky Studio, Waterhouse Stydio, The Walther Collection, The Goethe-Institut, Fabrica.