Photo by Suzy Bernstein

Mikhael Subotzky (30) is a man of few public words. The 2012 Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner for Visual Art prefers to let his striking photographs do the talking.

“It is a great honour. I am very grateful for the opportunity and honored to follow in the footsteps of the artists who have previously been given the award,” said Subotzky.

Subotzky was born in Cape Town, and is currently based in Johannesburg. His work has been exhibited widely in major galleries and museums, and his prints are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, the South African National Gallery, Cape Town, the Johannesburg Art Gallery, and FOAM (FotoMuseum Amsterdam).

“Mikhael Subotzky's technical, aesthetic and academic explorations have seen him become one of the world's exciting photographers,” said Brenton Maart, National Arts Festival committee member for Visual Art. “He uses photography to make images that are both nuanced constructions of colour and light, and also scholarly studies of the peculiarities of South African communities. The young artist establishes the boundaries of his subject matter and, within these confines, delves into fraught and loaded social spaces,” Maart added.

When asked what audiences can expect from Mikhael Subotzky in Grahamstown next year, the response was a mysterious: “A few surprises.”