Juhan Kuus — The Measure of Humanity in Rosphoto Museum

Juhan Kuus Documentary Photo Centre (Tallinn, Estonia) presents a retrospective exhibition of the work by Juhan Kuus, the internationally renowned photographer of Estonian descent who was born and worked in South Africa.

The exhibition is a comprehensive overview of the creative legacy of Juhan Kuus. Yet, the curators have particularly focused on the period between 1986 and 1999 when Kuus worked as the South African correspondent and photojournalist for the prominent French agency, Sipa Press. It was then that his most prominent works were created, exploring the tumult of the apartheid regime, resistance movement, release of Nelson Mandela and his way towards the presidency of the South African Republic.

Juhan Kuus started working as a photo reporter at the age of 17, and developed into one of the most influential and radical photographers of South Africa during his 45-year-long career. His photos, which were taken with utter devotion, direct poignancy and unyieldingly close contact to what he was shooting, found their way into the world’s leading newspapers, journals, exhibitions and photo festivals. He received dozens of awards, 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.

Leadgid, the Estonian Consulate General in St. Petersburg, and the Ministry of Culture contributed to the exhibition. Special thanks to Carl Eric Laantee Reintamm, Alexandra Maximova, Ksenia Kostina and Dimitri Mironov.

The exhibition is based on an exhibition completed in 2016 in cooperation with the Estonian Art Museum and presented at the Adamson-Eric Museum.

The exhibition in Rosfoto will be open until 07.02.2022.