Artists

Trained as a photographer and digital printer, Letso Leipego (b. 1991) has worked as both artist and technician, with the latter building his strong technical knowledge. After completing an Associate Degree in Advertising from the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Letso undertook a full-time digital printing apprenticeship at Photo Lab, Gaborone. In 2017 he was shortlisted for the Thapong Visual Artist of the Year Award in Gaborone. He completed the Artist Boot Camp professional practice course in Johannesburg at the Bag Factory, with Art Source SA, and had a solo exhibition with Guns & Rain in August 2018. He has since shown work at the Latitudes Art Fair, and the Investec Cape Town Fair, both in 2019. His work sits in multiple art collections locally and internationally.

Over a period of several years, Leipego has photographed all his subjects in their own environments, usually rural settings, both at home and at work. The influence of his experience as a fashion and commercial photographer is evident. The images, however, like the characters they introduce, are layered with hidden qualities and references. It is this notion of revelation that is so central to Letso’s work: through tricks of light and innovative composition strategies, he brings a revelatory tone to a style of ethnographic photography that has often been marred by a shadowy legacy.