“Zinyange Auntony's talent, commitment, and purpose are special. I have followed his work for years and I highly recommend him as a 6x6 talent.” - John Stanmeyer, photographer, filmmaker, field recordist, and 6x6 nominator.
Zinyange Auntony is an independent documentary photographer and filmmaker based in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. He has a special interest in documentary work that draws attention to under-reported stories on human rights, social justice and environmental issues.
He is a graduate of the Market Photo Workshop (2014), in Johannesburg, South Africa, and alumni of the World Press Photo Masterclass East Africa in Nairobi, Kenya. He is currently part of the VII mentorship program under the tutelage of Ilvy Njiokiktjen.
Power + Glory
Power + Glory is a visual documentation of the legacy of violence experienced by Zimbabweans during the Gukurahundi killings that took place in the 1980s. Gathering testimonies of survivors, this project looks at the impact of state power and internal power struggles on citizens. Using a documentary approach to share the voices of survival, this ongoing project aims to show how power changes and shapes society, and the quest for glory that pushes the ruling elite to maintain their authority at all costs.
“Four decades since the liberation war, stories of glory still occupy the central narrative in Zimbabwe’s political discourse as the liberators who brought the country’s freedom fight to retain control amongst themselves against perceived dissidents and political opposition movements calling for greater democracy in Zimbabwe. (...) Power and Glory gives a better visual understanding of post-colonial Zimbabwe's cyclical history and the oppressed voices living beneath the throne,” says the photographer.
Members of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters cover their heads with chairs while hiding at the MDC provincial office on 4 March 2018 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. A meeting called by the embattled MDC vice president Thokozani Khupe was disrupted for hours while running battles ensued, leaving many injured.
An injured man is carried into a car as soldiers disperse demonstrators in Harare, Zimbabwe, 1 August 2018. Opposition supporters demonstrated to demand results of the general election.
A wounded man (name withheld) receives treatment at a private clinic in Harare, Zimbabwe, on 6 August 2018. The man was injured as soldiers raided a bottle store in a township where he was drinking over the weekend.
A police officer orders people to clear off Tredgold Magistrates courts building in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on 19 August 2019. The police force has cordoned areas around the city to subdue any possible protest action.
Viral Complexity
Viral Complexity documents the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe, weaving together the need for survival, the hidden dangers of the virus, and the impossibility of social distancing in a “fragile nation.”
“Entangled in the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m caught between staying safe and providing in-depth coverage of the pervasive effects of the novel coronavirus. To explore the intricate layers of this dilemma, I use reflections as my mask to protect myself while documenting the daily life around the city without engaging with the subjects, as I would normally do. Each city in Zimbabwe has its own very unique traits and challenges when faced with the global pandemic. The success or failure of curbing COVID-19 thus depends on the strength and fragility of its health system, as well as its economic and political landscape,” says Auntony.
Due to the drought and a severe economic crisis, more than half of Zimbabwe’s 14 million people are food insecure. Zimbabwe’s lockdown has brought to the fore inequalities, as the majority of the urban poor who depend on informal work has been unable to earn a living. Despite using the security forces, it is proving impossible for the government to keep hungry citizens locked down at home.
A security guard looks out while a police water cannon is used to disinfect at a gas station in a high density suburb in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on 16 April 2020.
Workers clean up at a fast food restaurant during the COVID-19 lockdown in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on 19 April, 2020. Fast food restaurants face the threat of closure as they operate for few hours without sit in clients.
A journalist works inside a community hub during the lockdown in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, on 28 April 2020.
Vendors dismantle their stalls in the central Business district of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, on 27 April 2020, following a government directive to stop all operations as a measure to curb the spread of COVID-19.
