Photographer Ernest Cole’s photos are discomfiting, but his images aren’t miserabilist. Ernest Cole, House of Bondage © Ernest Cole/Magnum Photos

An exhibition in Paris is showcasing original photos from the conscientious, perspicacious South African photographer Ernest Cole, whose revelatory work has resurfaced in recent years. Some viewers will be familiar with Cole thanks to Raoul Peck, who made the emotionally charged film Ernest Cole: Lost and Found, which premiered at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival and was awarded best documentary. (Peck’s previous filmography includes 2016’s “I Am Not Your Negro,” about James Baldwin.) “House of Bondage: Vintage Prints from the Ernest Cole Family Trust – Part II” at Magnum Gallery is the second installment of a three-part exhibition, each featuring different works. The first installment has already been shown at Goodman Gallery in London; the third, in Cape Town, is coming down the pipeline later this month.

Sign Up For Our Daily Newsletter

Thank you for signing up!

By clicking submit, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge we may use your information to send you emails, product samples, and promotions on this website and other properties. You can opt out anytime.

Cole, born in South Africa in 1940, chronicled the quotidian barbarity of apartheid as one of the first Black freelance photographers in his native country. There was no othering in his gaze: he was subjected to the same crushing, brutish framework he was documenting.

Cole began as a contributor to DRUM Magazine, a South African publication aimed at a Black readership. Under the Population Registration Act, South African citizens were designated racially: Black, white, colored or Indian. For Cole to gain access to the stories he wanted to report, he registered........

© Observer