Self portrait of photographer Ernest Cole. 1967. © Ernest Cole / Magnum Photos

Apartheid and Beyond: Rare, Vintage Prints from Cole’s Collection
Rare and vintage prints from Ernest Cole’s House of Bondage series and work made in exile from the U.S. arrive at Magnum Gallery for Part II of a three-country exhibition.

Magnum Gallery opened its doors in Paris last week for its latest exhibition, House of Bondage: Vintage Prints from the Ernest Cole Family Trust-Part II, featuring rare and vintage prints by the South African photographer Ernest Cole. Running from January 22 through March 29, this exhibition forms the second part of a three-part series in collaboration with Goodman Gallery and the Ernest Cole Family Trust. Part II follows the exhibition’s debut in London in November and precedes the final leg in Cape Town this February. Each part of the exhibition is distinct, spotlighting different prints from Cole’s archive.

The exhibition focuses primarily on House of Bondage, Cole’s landmark 1967 book - a harrowing but unflinching documentation of Apartheid-era South Africa. Prohibited in South Africa at the time of publication, House of Bondage persists as one of the most visceral visual testimonies against the horrors of racial segregation, oppression, and settler colonialism.

South Africa. 1960s. © Ernest Cole / Magnum Photos

Powerful in content and rare in form, most of the vintage prints were made in the late 1960s or early 1970s, and bear a blue Magnum stamp with Cole’s copyright. The high quality of these prints suggests they were part of Cole’s personal collection - preserved for exhibition purposes, but almost never shown to the public.

“It’s so rare to see prints that are so old, with this kind of luminosity,” says Magnum Gallery Director Samantha McCoy. “Many of these were likely printed by Ernest himself and have remained in remarkable condition,” adds Mark Sanders, Special Advisor to the Ernest Cole Family Trust.

The exhibition mirrors the structure of House of Bondage, which is divided into thematic chapters, each exploring a different facet of Black life under Apartheid in South Africa. In the book, Cole’s writing is as compelling, revealing and condemnatory as his photography. Both pay special attention to the language of Apartheid.

South Africa. 1960s. © Ernest Cole / Magnum Photos

In keeping with Cole’s tradition of image and word, the sections of the exhibition at Magnum Gallery are now accompanied by texts from art critics, editors, and fellow South African Magnum photographer Lindokuhle Sobekwa, forming an inter-generational dialogue around House of Bondage and its timeless impact - the perspective of the present in the past, and the past in the present.

One section, “For Whites Only,” presents stark images of segregation - signs dictating separate bus stops, entrances, and facilities for Europeans and non-Europeans. Condescending and dehumanizing language was pervasive in parlance and signage. The blunt, institutionalized racism showed how Black South Africans were systemically relegated to the margins of society. The chapter “Police and Passes,” highlights the impact of pass laws and use of checkpoints. Black South Africans were required to carry passbooks at all times, allowing authorities to restrict their movement. Without a pass, they could be arrested on the spot.