An image from ‘It Is Well: An Ode To Karabo’, a self-portrait series that speaks to the ongoing issue of femicide in South Africa. Lebo Thoka, the young Johannesburg-based photographer, was only 21 when she created it, and it was her first venture into fine art photography, having trained as a commercial photographer. Thoka says she uses ‘religious motifs to reposition and explore the value of womanhood outside the violent grip of patriarchy’. Her work explores themes of black feminism, religion and spirituality, all within a South African context.

artsy.net/artist/lebo-thoka