Photographer autonomy and images of resistance: the case of South Africa during the 1980s

Abstract

This article examines the praxis of prominent photographers who were professionally active during the 1980s in South Africa, based on 26 personal interviews. The authors look at issues concerning practitioner autonomy, or the photographer’s freedom to make independent communication-related choices while working within social documentary or photojournalism genres. The data suggest that the majority of photographers operated on the level of strategic social actions with low levels of practitioner autonomy, using photography in the first instance as a ‘weapon’ in the fight against apartheid, actively forming collectives to assist with the distribution of resistance images internationally. In contrast, those photographers who opted to operate primarily as independent social commentators remained in the minority.