Exhibit focuses on black and white photography

By Pinehas Nakaziko 

WINDHOEK- Namibian photographer Tony Figueira, has announced that the exhibition  Every one hundredth of a second exhibition will focus mainly on black and white photography.
Figueira made the announcement at the media launch of the exhibition on Tuesday at Studio 77 saying this will give the taste and show the reality of the images taken during the late eighties and early nineties. Every one hundredth of a second which opens next Friday until March 19, is a photographic exhibition by John Liebenberg and Tony Figueira, and it will be exhibited at Omba Gallery on February 21 with the opening remarks by Professor Andre du Pisani.  In the exhibition, arranged by Omba Gallery’s Shareen Thude, and sponsored by the National Arts Council of Namibia (NACN), photographers John Liebenberg and Tony Figueira create, through a selection of 20 images each, a personal account of some special photographic moments of events in Namibia, Angola and South Africa. The images cover a wide variety of topics with emphasis on the liberation struggle in Namibia that led to independence on March 21, 1990.
This exhibition, Every one hundredth of a second, is about special moments in both the photographers’ lives, and in the role that photography played in documenting a process that affected three countries. In addition the exhibition is about the essence of photography, and in particular film photography as viewed from, and in contrast to, today’s digital world. It is a stark reminder of what it was like to photograph without digital immediacy, and relying only on light meters and light judgements in situations often insecure, challenging or uncertain. Photography is always around us, and Every one hundredth of a second, there is a photographic moment, an opportunity to capture the world we live in. For both photographers this exhibition is a great way to go back in time, pick out a handful of images and collaborate in a small but uniquely powerful display of black and white photography about the world we lived in and should never forget.
John Liebenberg was introduced to Namibia in 1976 when, together with his fellow conscripts, was sent to Ondangwa Air-force base near the border with Angola. He later returned to Namibia and in 1985 was appointed photographer for the Namibian newspaper, then a brand new newspaper challenging the apartheid status quo and promoting the independence of Namibia. Following independence his family moved to Johannesburg, from where he covered the Angolan civil war as freelancer for Reuters. He later joined Media 24 magazines mostly working for Drum. He is an established news photographer whose work has been exhibited in Africa and Europe. His Namibian photographic collection documenting Swapo’s war of Liberation and the South African occupation is widely used by historians, researchers and film makers.
After graduating from Rhodes University, Angolan-born Tony Figueira’s passion for documentary photography and photojournalism saw him cover a wide variety of themes involving people and processes. The liberation struggle and Namibia’s road to independence became a key focus, and during the implementation of United Nations Resolution 435, Tony was commissioned by the United Nations to document the process. Freelance journalism and photography led to stringing for several local and international media organisations including Voice of America (VOA), Radio TSF (Lisbon), Gemini Agency (London), The Rand Daily Mail and the Weekly Mail (Johannesburg). Throughout the years, Tony has exhibited widely in Namibia and internationally. In 2004 he started Studio 77, a commercial photographic, printing and design studio in Windhoek.