Paul Samuels

Paul Samuels is a South African photographer whose work continues to excavate new possibilities for portraiture. His city, Johannesburg, is a key reference for his imagery. Here, encounters with a variety of people, places and spaces intertwine with his interest in relationship between the individual and the societal or subcultural.

His curiosity with photography began in his childhood, with credit given to his father's collection of encyclopedias called Life Library of Photography, and particularly Wynn Bullock's photograph Child in the Forest. Samuels completed his BA Fine Arts with distinction at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2012. During his studies, he worked as an intern at Glow Photographic, which expanded his technical and professional knowledge beyond the conceptual and critical thinking. In his final year he was awarded a Tierney Fellowship for the project XVI X, a body of portrait works of young men from the suburb of Edenvale, east of Johannesburg.

His work has been shared across the globe in solo shows and through inclusion in group shows and projects.

Samuels is influenced by his mentor Jo Ractliffe, and other South African greats including Guy Tillium, David Golblatt, Larry Clark, Pieter Hugo, Ross Garrett, Seyou Keita and Malick Sidibe.