Expressions: The Couch Sessions With Siphiwe Mhlambi

The 2018 Couch Sessions were the start of a longer project, not a one-off. Siphiwe Mhlambi has kept his Expressions jazz photography series going since then, with later shows at FotoZA in 2020 and 2021. In 2024 his portrait of pianist Nduduzo Makhathini was honoured at Jazz World Photo, and he launched his coffee-table book Rhythms in Black & White at that year’s Standard Bank Joy of Jazz. In March 2026 he showed The Jazz Legacy Collection with fellow photographer Arthur Dlamini at Youngblood Africa in Cape Town, during the Cape Town International Jazz Festival.

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Siphiwe Mhlambi is a multiple award-winning photographer and the founder of African Sky Media. On 6 September 2018 he opened Expressions, an exhibition of his jazz photographs, at Gallery FotoZA in Rosebank Mall, Johannesburg. The show traced South African jazz history through his lens and ran until 28 September 2018. Alongside it, he set up a space where photographers could meet and talk about the problems they face in the industry. He called it Expression: The Couch Sessions.

The sessions ran during the 22 days the exhibition was open. There were three panel discussions in the series, all held at FotoZA in Rosebank Mall.

Session one: the evolving role of the jazz photographer

The first Couch Session took place on Saturday 8 September 2018, from 2 pm to 3:30 pm.

Topic: How the jazz photographer’s role has changed over the last 50 years, then and now, through new technology and the social media revolution.

Anchor: Gwen Ansell, jazz writer and arts and culture journalist.

The panelists

Daylin Paul, then visual editor at New Frame, a Johannesburg publication that closed in July 2022 after its funding was cut.

“Jazz photography tells a story of what people went through during the apartheid period in South Africa. As important as Jazz photography is, it is not given enough platform and exposure.”

Percy Mabandu, writer, journalist and, at the time, host of a jazz radio show on Radio 702.

“I feel that there is an urgency that needs to be created about the person behind the lens (photographer), as they are telling their story as well through the images they take. The rise of Social Media has self-disturbed the photography process because photography is not only about documentation, it’s about telling a story. I feel that the quality of photography has been hacked.”

Mabandu also criticised the exhibition itself: “I do not see the representation of the audience in the exhibition.”

Caroline Kaminju, digital social writer and photographer.

“The relationship between a photographer and their subject is very important. You can photograph one subject in different ways and if you as a photographer don’t have a relationship with your subject, that limits you. This also determines how the images will turn out, remember that the viewer/audience can read the story in the image and of how the image was created.”

Leslie Dikeni, urban sociologist and author or editor of Poverty of Ideas. At the time he was working on a book called Music Agency and Power.

“Photography goes beyond capturing a moment, it provides us with the window to see who the Jazz musician behind the instrument is. Siphiwe has managed to link the subject (jazz musician) with the object (instrument) in his images, giving the audience a clear picture into the musicians soul. Social media has contributed in promoting various forms of art. Social media has also discriminated the very same artists it helps to promote. We need to focus on exposing the forces that control social media, bringing down artists and crippling their careers. Social media leaves artists with a difficult choice because it can help you build your career but it can also destroy it.”

Siphiwe Mhlambi’s closing words

Mhlambi thanked the people who had supported him, especially those who came to the Couch Session and took part.

“People need to understand that you have to create your own opportunities, especially as a photographer. Work on your own pace and from a place of inspiration to be great as a photographer. Make your own rules and it’s very important to develop a relationship with your subject.”

That advice holds up today. Self-made platforms like Expressions became the thread running through the rest of his career.

The later sessions in the 2018 series

Two more sessions followed. Both ran from 2 pm to 3:30 pm.

Session two: Sunday 16 September 2018

Topic: The influence of jazz photography on jazz history.

Anchor: Dr Lindelwa Dalamba, historian and lecturer at the Wits School of Arts.

Panelists:

• Siphiwe Mhlambi, exhibiting jazz photographer
• Sam Nhlengethwa, artist, jazz aficionado and collector
• Candice Jansen, documentarian on photography, then a PhD Fellow in Art History at WiSER
• Nothemba Madumo, radio jazz show presenter and producer, and MD of 4everjazz, a jazz media and events company

Session three: Sunday 23 September 2018

Topic: Copyright and the use of photographs, and how jazz photographers help raise artists’ profiles in the age of social media.

Moderator: Rashid Lombard, entrepreneur, arts programmer, photographer and co-founder of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival.

Panelists:

• Siphiwe Mhlambi, exhibiting jazz photographer
• Rod Taylor, photojournalist and jazz photographer
• Lindo Mbhele, jazz photographer
• Oscar Gutierrez, arts and culture photographer
• Sufi Don (Hugh Mdlalose), jazz photographer
• Neo Ntsoma, photojournalist and photo trainer
• Rafs Mayet, photojournalist and jazz photographer

Mhlambi announced the second session on social media:

Our next couch session is on Sunday 16 September at 2 pm. Topic discussed: The Influence Of Jazz Photography On Jazz History. Moderated by Dr Lindelwa Dalamba pic.twitter.com/q7HAuIY49Y, Siphiwe Mhlambi (@Hlohlwane) September 10, 2018

Image: @Hlohlwane / Princess Mahogo

What came after the 2018 Couch Sessions

The first Expressions became a recurring series. Mhlambi has also moved from gallery walls into print and international competitions.

The book, Rhythms in Black & White: A Visual Journey Through the World of Jazz, was published by Brandhill Africa. It pairs Mhlambi’s photographs with jazz poetry by Saul Molobi. The 2026 Cape Town show ran alongside the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, the event Rashid Lombard co-founded. That links back to the copyright session he moderated in 2018.

FAQ

Who is Siphiwe Mhlambi?

Siphiwe Mhlambi is a South African documentary and jazz photographer and the founder of African Sky Media. He is best known for his Expressions series of jazz photography exhibitions, which began in 2018. He also wrote the coffee-table book Rhythms in Black & White.

When and where were the Couch Sessions held?

There were three sessions, held on 8, 16 and 23 September 2018 from 2 pm to 3:30 pm. All three took place at Gallery FotoZA in Rosebank Mall, Johannesburg, while the first Expressions exhibition was running there from 6 to 28 September 2018.

Is the Expressions exhibition still running?

The 2018 exhibition closed on 28 September 2018. The series itself continued, with editions at FotoZA in 2020 and 2021 and an Expressions event tied to his 2024 book launch in Braamfontein. His most recent major show was The Jazz Legacy Collection with Arthur Dlamini in Cape Town in March 2026.

What award did Siphiwe Mhlambi win for his Nduduzo Makhathini photo?

His portrait of pianist and composer Nduduzo Makhathini was honoured at Jazz World Photo 2024. The results were announced in Trutnov, Czech Republic, in April 2024. Before that, he received Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Honours in 2019.

What is Rhythms in Black & White?

It is Mhlambi’s visual monograph of jazz photography, published by Brandhill Africa, with jazz poetry by Saul Molobi. It was launched at the 2024 Standard Bank Joy of Jazz in Johannesburg, and a second launch followed on 29 September 2024 in Braamfontein.

Who moderated the Couch Sessions?

Gwen Ansell anchored the first session, Dr Lindelwa Dalamba of the Wits School of Arts led the second, and Rashid Lombard moderated the third. Lombard is a photographer and co-founder of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival.

Sources

• IOL: Siphiwe Mhlambi presents Expressions, a jazz photography exhibition
• Channel24: Mhlambi’s lifelong love of photography
• Press Portal: Expressions, a jazz photographic exhibition at FotoZA, Rosebank
• OkayAfrica: Siphiwe Mhlambi’s Jazz Tales Come From the Dust
• Cape Argus via PressReader: Fusing hot jazz with fine photos
• Sunday Times: Seeing the music, feeling the love, on Siphiwe Mhlambi’s new pictorial collection
• Youngblood Africa: Siphiwe Mhlambi artist page
• IOL Cape Argus: CTIJF to showcase The Jazz Legacy Collection exhibition in March
• Daily Maverick: Inside the messy demise of New Frame