Artists

Hasan and Husain Essop, born and raised in Cape Town, graduated from the University of Cape Town’s Michaelis School of Fine Art in 2007, where they studied photography and printmaking. Twin brothers and collaborators, their work constitutes performance-based photographs that interrogate the notions of place, identity, and religion – particularly that of Islam in Western culture. As Muslims, the representation of the human form is forbidden. Therefore, the brothers place themselves in front of the camera, thus putting this burden solely on them.

In 2009, the Essops held a residency in Cuba that coincided with their participation in the Havana Biennale. They have exhibited widely, including at the Dakar Biennale (2010) and in Figures and Fictions: Contemporary South African Photography at London’s V&A Museum (2011). In 2014, they received the Standard Bank Young Artist Award. Their work forms part of several public collections, including The Walther Collection, The Iziko South African National Gallery, and the Deutsche and Standard Bank collections.