John Liebenberg

Born in 1958 in Johannesburg, South Africa. John died in 2020.

He was introduced to Namibia in 1976 when, together with his fellow conscripts he was sent to Ondangwa Air-force base near the border with Angola. He later returned to Namibia and in 1985 was appointed photographer for a new weekly, ‘The Namibian’.

Following independence he and his family moved to Johannesburg, from where he covered the Angolan civil war as freelancer for Reuters. He later joined Media 24 magazines mostly working for Drum. He is a senior and established news photographer whose work has been exhibited in Africa and Europe. His Namibian photographic collection documenting Swapo’s war of Liberation and the South African occupation is widely used by historians, researchers and film makers.

Liebenberg’s exhibitions include Rise and Fall of Apartheid at ICP, New York, Haus der Kunst, Munich,  Museum Africa, Johannesburg, Namibia at the first african Photography Encounters In Bamako, Framing Fashion at the Brighton Museum, Brighton…

Menu