From documenting apartheid South Africa and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to photographing lockdown swimmers on Hampstead Heath, a major new exhibition celebrates the career of photographer Jillian Edelstein and her enduring fascination with power, community and human resilience.
A major survey of Photographer Jillian Edelstein’s work will open on 31 July 2026 at Stills, a centre for photography based in the heart of Edinburgh, UK. The exhibition brings together images spanning over four decades of documentary photography, portraiture and social observation. Titled Among People, it traces Edelstein’s early years photographing South Africa under apartheid to internationally recognised projects exploring her trademark themes of identity, community and social change.
Consistency of vision
The exhibition curated by Tracy Marshall-Grant presents previously unseen photographs alongside Edelstein’s best known. What becomes evident is the remarkable consistency of vision and determination that has become her legacy. Edelstein began her photography career working as a press photographer in her native South Africa during the latter years of apartheid. Her experience of working amid political unrest and systemic inequality, helped develop balanced journalistic observation with a high level of empathy with her subjects.
Based in London since the mid 1980s, Edelstein was recipient of Amateur Photographer’s 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award. In an accompanying interview, looking back on her career, she reflected on how deeply those early experiences continue to shape her work. ‘This has formed me, influenced my practice and continues to resonate through my work today.’ That thread is evident throughout Among People.
The exhibition opens with images made beyond the harsh political realities in South Africa – beaches, bowling clubs, bars and community gatherings. These rhythms of everyday life reveal Edelstein’s interest in the social spaces where a sense of belonging is established among people. These images – many of which have rarely been exhibited – provide valuable insight into a photographer that would go on to develop international recognition.
Thinking outside the box
Edelstein’s landmark project, Truth and Lies, documenting South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission following the end of apartheid, is likely to be the exhibition’s centrepiece. Commissioned by The New York Times Magazine, the project saw Edelstein travel across South Africa photographing individuals who came forward to testify about human rights abuses committed during the apartheid era. Avoiding the more obvious approach of press photography from the sidelines, she invited both victims and perpetrators into a temporary studio she created close to the hearings. The resulting photographs formed the basis of her acclaimed book Truth and Lies (The New Press 2002), which remains one of the most powerful visual records of South Africa’s efforts to confront its past.
Edelstein described to AP the emotional complexity of photographing former security personnel accused of abuses during the apartheid years. ‘It’s a seething mass of brute power,’ she said, recalling encounters with some of those who appeared before the commission. She also stressed the importance of compassion and understanding in the photographic process. ‘If you don’t understand compassion, you don’t operate well.’ Wether photographing political figures, criminals, artists, celebrities or her own neighbourhood, it’s this commitment to empathy that binds her work.
Some of the portraits featured in the exhibition are drawn from her project Affinities, a long-running series exploring creative partnerships and collaborative relationships. The project examines the dynamic between people who create and work together rather than focussing on non individual achievement.
Water rats
Water Rats, one of her more recent projects, focuses on the community of open-water swimmers who congregated at London’s Hampstead Heath pools during the COVID-19 lockdowns. A dedicated participant herself, the series reflects Edelstein’s determined fascination with rituals, resilience and the ways in which individuals unite during periods of upheaval.
Those familiar with Edelstein primarily as a portrait photographer won’t be disappointed. The exhibition features figures ranging from Nelson Mandela to leading actors, writers and musicians. She has been a regular contributor to publications including The Sunday Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Time and The New York Times Magazine. More than 100 of her portraits are held in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery. What Among People does, is offer a broader perspective on a career that has consistently fluctuated between documentary and portraiture, black-and-white and colour, personal projects and editorial commissions.
Collectively the exhibition suggests that Edelstein’s work has never been about fame or politics alone, the true subject is people and how they survive, adapt, collaborate and find meaning within larger social forces. As Marshall-Grant notes, the photographs move effortlessly between intimate personal encounters and wider social histories. Viewed collectively, a body of work emerges that unites an enduring interest in the complexities of human experience with curiosity and compassion.
For visitors to Edinburgh Art Festival, Among People strives to provide an opportunity not only to revisit some of Edelstein’s most celebrated projects, but also to discover the lesser-known photographs that shaped one of the most distinctive photographic careers of the past half century.
Among People runs at Stills, Edinburgh, from 31 July to 24 October 2026 as part of Edinburgh Art Festival.
Related reading:
- The remarkable story of portrait photographer Jillian Edelstein
- 10 women photographers you should follow on Instagram today
- Inside the global journey of the photographer redefining female strength
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