Talk

"Empathy for Suffering: What Lies Behind the Photographs of Ernest Cole"

RESERVATION REQUIRED

FREE

2026.4.25: 14:00–15:00

QUESTION 4F

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Students kneel on floor to write. Government is casual about furnishing schools for blacks. South Africa, 1960s. © Ernest Cole/ Magnum Photos

This event offers an in-depth look at the legacy of South African photographer Ernest Cole, a featured figure in this year’s KYOTOGRAPHIE exhibition, South Africa in Focus. Cole documented the daily lives of Black South Africans, including school teachers, students, mine workers and domestic servants, in order to expose the Apartheid regime. After going into the exile in the United States, he published these images in his 1967 photo book, ”House of Bondage”. This event will explore the long history of racial discrimination behind the moments that Cole captured. We will also consider why his photographs evoke empathy for people who are geographically (and, for us, historically) distant.

Important Notice: *Those who wish to participate in the event should arrive at the registration desk at the venue 20 minutes prior to the start time.

Speakers Speakers

Tomohiro Kambayashi (Lecturer, Faculty of Letters, Konan University)

Tomohiro Kambayashi is a lecturer in the Faculty of Letters at Konan University in Kobe, Japan. His research focuses on the cultural history of South Africa. Before joining the faculty in Kobe, he was a visiting researcher at the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WiSER) in Johannesburg. He is the author of two books: Racial Segregation in South Africa and the Reconstruction of History(Akashi Shoten, 2025) and The World Opens Up with isiZulu (Fukyosha, 2022). Both books were written in Japanese.