Photo: X Fotomat website launch: Introducing Mauro Vombe
Mauro Vombe, born (1988) and based in Maputo, Mozambique, started photographing in 2004. His work draws from his earlier experiences in theatre - wanting to unveil hidden feelings. He is interested in how the individual is positioned and understood within the collective. Much of his work finds resonance from working as a news and events reporter. Vombe has received numerous awards locally and internationally. He is interested in the stories of real people, reflecting the world we live in.
He exhibited in Five Photographers, A Tribute to David Goldblatt, curated by John Fleetwood, was the democraSEE 3 award recipient in 2018 and participated in the Cachupa Factory Artist Residency in Cape Verde and the Masterclass Photography Residency in Mozambique in 2019
Image from Faces
“Faces is a series which seeks to explore ideas of identity and interconnectedness – that we are all individual parts of the same organism. The groups I photographed are of different religious and cultural backgrounds, genders and age groups yet across them there are moments of similarity. The anxieties and joys on one face may find itself echoed on the face of another.
Similarly I am interested in the face being the first mode of expression – the first word. Our faces are how we present ourselves and navigate the world. The faces in these images are rendered in sharp focus and they are individual in their identities, yet they also naturally and seamlessly assimilate into the larger group.
In this moment of global uncertainty, I am interested in ways of being together when we are cannot be physically close to one another.”
Photo: has partnered with visual website builder Fotomat to create websites showcasing the talents of nine African photographers. Aimed at increasing visibility of the photographers’ work and contemporary African photography as a whole at a time when Covid-19 has shifted interactions and engagement online, the websites play a pivotal role in creating platforms to showcase important work from across the continent.
The websites have officially been launched on 15 September 2021.
Visit Mauro’s website here: https://maurovombe.onfotomat.com/
About Photo:
Photo: is a multi-operation platform for the development and promotion of socially engaged photography practices, photographers, and critical visual culture.
Through curatorial and educational projects throughout the African continent and beyond, Photo: promotes emerging and practicing photographers and photography with the aim to encourage critical and experimental approaches/responses, that challenge and stimulate how we think about photography and our world.
Further, through commissioning, producing and connecting photography projects and practitioners, Photo: wants to encourage dialogue, exchange, engagement and participation.
Central to its vision, is the idea that photography can be a delicate tool for social change.
Learn more about Photo::
About Fotomat:
Fotomat was built by the makers of Viewbook, a photo sharing platform and portfolio website builder for professionals that was founded in 2009.
Over the past two years the Fotomat team worked with artists, art educators, and photo industry professionals as part of a publication called "Transformations, Exploring Changes in and Around Photography". During this process it became apparent that there is a need for new and different ways to show image based work on the internet.
Disciplinary lines are blurred more and more every day, and many image makers are mixing video with still photography and other media in their work. They are looking for new ways to tell stories. To fill this void, the observations and ideas learned from Transformations have been applied to Fotomat and will benefit anyone looking to make a visual website, be it a simple portfolio or an immersive online exhibition.
Learn more about Fotomat:
For more information:
visit https://www.phototool.co.za/ or email info@phototool.co.za.
Learn more about the nine photographers selected to create websites with Photo: and Fotomat at https://www.phototool.co.za/2020/2021/9/15/photo-x-fotomat-launch-nine-websites-for-rising-african-photographers-1?fbclid=IwAR22N6Ds5ZyxI6O4RrRjmDrLcPjXXd7aHYFurhpJD5oeARW8zXP17Sjj88E
Posted 1/11/2021.