"Untitled" Photograph - Limited Edition of 10

Collen Silumko Mfazwe is a South African contemporary artist and documentary photographer whose practice explores identity, masculinity, belonging, memory and the complexities of lived experience. Working primarily through photography and film, Mfazwe creates intimate visual narratives that centre people and communities whose stories are often overlooked or misrepresented.

His practice is rooted in personal experience and community engagement, combining documentary observation with a deeply personal visual language. His ongoing work examines how identity is formed through family, place, memory and social relationships, while creating space for stories that are rarely given visibility.

Mfazwe has developed a body of work across photography, film and visual activism, including projects such as I Am My Father’s Son, My Name Is Silumko, Becoming and Umkhondo Wobuzwe. His work has been exhibited in South Africa and internationally, including his selection for Out: LGBTQ+ Artist Activists of Africa at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art.

His work is held in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, reflecting the growing recognition of his contribution to contemporary African photographic practice.

Mfazwe’s photographs invite viewers into intimate encounters with people, places and experiences while questioning conventional ideas of identity, representation and belonging. His work is ultimately concerned with visibility, dignity and the power of photography to preserve personal and collective memory.

Based in South Africa, he continues to work across photography, film and community-based visual storytelling.