Exhibition of photographs by Johan Kuus "Measure of Humanity"

ROSPHOTO and the Juhan Kuus Center for Documentary Photography in Tallinn (Estonia) present a retrospective exhibition of the renowned South African documentary photographer of Estonian origin Juhan Kuus.

The exposition demonstrates an overview of the entire creative heritage of the author. However, the curators of the project paid special attention to the period from 1986 to 1999, when Kuus worked as a correspondent for the legendary French photo agency Sipa Press in South Africa. During this period, the artist's best photographs were created, dedicated to the apartheid regime, the resistance movement, the release of Nelson Mandela and his path to the presidency of South Africa.

Johan Kuus began his career as a photojournalist at the age of 17 and over 45 years has become one of the most influential and radical photographers in South Africa. His pictures, taken with full dedication and sharpness of perception, from uncompromisingly close distance to the subject of photography, have taken their place on the pages of the world's leading newspapers and magazines, at exhibitions and photo festivals. Kuus has received several dozen awards. In particular, he became the first and only photographer of Estonian origin to be awarded the World Press Photo, the most prestigious photojournalist award, which he received twice: in 1978 and 1992.

However, his best work goes beyond news photography. First of all, he considered himself a documentary anthropologist, whose photographs tell deeply human stories about the South African people, about people, regardless of skin color. In them you can see joys and worries, everyday life, traditions, relations between man and the earth, prevailing social norms and taboos. Johan Kuus has always been in search of humanity and sought to understand what motives are behind people's behavior, their views, and the choices they ultimately make.

In total, ROSPHOTO visitors will see about 100 works of the outstanding photojournalist.