Juhan Kuus — Memory as a weapon

This year, the world will celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday and in order to honour this Documentary Photography Centre holds the photo exhibition of Juhan Kuus, South African with Estonian roots.

Juhan Kuus was the internationally recognised documentary and press photographer who received dozens of awards, including South Africa Press Photographer of the Year on several occasions, and is the only photographer of Estonian descent ever to have received the most prestigious press photo award in the world: the World Press Photo Award, which he won twice, in 1978 and 1992.

With this exhibition, the Documentary Photography Centre will complete the first year’s program, presenting Juhan’s work for the first time in the centre’s gallery. The exhibited work is a selection from the author’s main collection, helping to look back at the South African history through the lens of one photographer.

In addition to the photos on display, Aro Velmet, a cultural and science historian, has written accompanying text on South Africa’s history and its contemporary issues. The photos are complemented by Juhan Kuus’s own captions and comments. You can also watch the short film about the photographer in the exhibition hall.

“When they write the real story of South Africa, they’ll need the pictures of Juhan Kuus to illustrate it”. Chris Marais, Scope 1989

Many thanks to family and friends of Juhan Kuus, Sipa Press, Coffee People, A. Le Coq, Liviko

Sponsors: Heyday Organic, Telliskivi Creative City, Taevas Ogilvy, Printwise, Art Museum of Estonia