David Goldblatt: (In)Visible Structures 

15 November 2024 – 9 February 2025 

A major exhibition of David Goldblatt (1930–2018), one of South Africa’s most important documentary photographers, will be on view at the Lithuanian National Museum of Art (LNMA) from November 16, 2024, to February 9, 2025. As an engaged and perceptive observer of complex social issues under apartheid and after its collapse, Goldblatt’s work embodies a critical view of reality. The exhibition presents over one hundred black-and-white and colour photographs, offering a comprehensive look at Goldblatt’s oeuvre, including iconic images from his most significant series, such as On the Mines, Some Afrikaners Photographed, and Structures. 

 

Goldblatt’s Structures, initiated in 1983 and continued for over thirty years, offers a visual history of South African public spaces and landscapes shaped from the colonial period onwards. Through a series of images depicting churches, monuments, public buildings, urban settings, and agricultural landscapes, the photographer reveals how constructions reflect the beliefs and ideologies of those who design and use them. As the artist himself noted, the way we shape landscapes, particularly through architecture, is ‘eloquent of the needs, preferences, imperatives, and values of those who made and use them.’ 

 

The exhibition section First Series presents photographs that brought Goldblatt early recognition. Although he began taking photographs as a teenager, he devoted himself professionally only at the age of 33, working for corporations and magazines while also pursuing his own projects. On The Mines, his first mature series, focuses on the reality of gold mining that formed the backbone of South Africa’s economy throughout most of the 20th Century. Some Afrikaners Photographed reveals everyday life among South Africa’s white, mostly rural, and often impoverished population. A decade later, Goldblatt photographed the black residents of Soweto, South Africa’s largest township on the outskirts of Johannesburg, and later turned to the white middle class in Boksburg, a neighbouring town. In each series, people are central: Goldblatt captures their presence in the spaces they inhabit, reflecting both the environments they shape and those that shape them. 

 

David Goldblatt (1930–2018), one of South Africa’s most significant photographers, demonstrates, teaches, and testifies to a critical and engaged view of reality through his body of work. This conscious gaze is a form of participation: in-depth knowledge enables understanding, and understanding enables conscious choice. Goldblatt’s calm, seemingly unremarkable photographs contain more than they may appear at first glance. Each landscape, portrait, or photograph of a building consists of many layers, requiring time and effort from the viewer. Those who commit to exploring these multilayered meanings will leave the exhibition with a transformed outlook. 

 

The exhibition is organised in partnership with Goodman Gallery (Johannesburg) and with the support of The David Goldblatt Legacy Trust. 

 

 

Curator Karolina Ziębińska 

Exhibition design Mindaugas Reklaitis 

Graphic design Ugnė Balčiūnaitė 

Coordinators of the exhibition: Ugnė Makauskaitė, Giedrius Gulbinas 

Coordinators of the events and educational programmes: Goda Aksamitauskaitė, Austėja Tavoraitė, Kotryna Markevičiūtė, Eglė Nedzinskaitė, Beatričė Mockevičiūtė 

Communication: Emilija Blockutė, Rūta Statulevičiūtė-Kaučikienė

Tranlator Evelina Slavinskienė 

Copyeditors: Laura Patiomkinaitė-Čeikė, Emma Stirling 

Audiovisual technician Vytautas Narbutas  

Installation team: Vadim Šamkov, Vidas Juršėnas, Dainius Markevičius, Tomas Orlovas, Lukas Narvilas, Norbert Hinc, Andrius Ivanovas, Tomas Karolis Kucharskis, Salvijus Misevičius 

Exhibition organizer LNMA NGA 

Exhibition partner Goodman Gallery  

Sponsors: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania, A4 Arts, Exterus:Fundermax  

Media partner LRT 

Media sponsor JCDecaux Lietuva

Social partners: Sienos grupė, Artscape 

Special thanks: The David Goldblatt Legacy Trust, Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to the Republic of South Africa, Lithuanian Culture Institute

 

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info@ndg.lt
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See also

Exhibition opening

David Goldblatt: (In)Visible Structures