HOPE IS A WHISPER Solo Show by Liezl Zwarts
HOPE IS A WHISPER
Solo Show by Liezl Zwarts
10 – 15 November, Lilia Ben Salah Gallery Lilia Ben Salah Gallery 6 Av. Delcassé, 75008 Paris
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Winner of the 2025 Paris Photography Prize (PX3) in the Fine Art/Nude category, South African artist Liezl Zwarts unveils a new series of work, HOPE IS A WHISPER, presented in Paris for her first European solo exhibition, alongside Paris Photo Week. |
The exhibition draws its central metaphor from kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer and gold. A philosophy that sees breakage not as the end of beauty, but as the beginning of transformation. The artist weaves gold threads onto her photographs printed on linen canvases; scars are illuminated, and what was once shattered becomes more radiant than before. Through her lens, Zwarts photographs women whose cracks reveal strength, turning fragility into testimony and imperfection into brilliance.
HOPE IS A WHISPER is for those who have stood at the edge of despair, a reminder that hope is not always visible, but it is always present. Stitched into every fracture, waiting to be noticed. The work does not seek to erase pain but to honour it, revealing the strength that emerges from quiet perseverance.
The exhibition marks a significant moment in Zwarts’ evolving fine art career, following more than a decade of acclaimed work in the commercial photography industry. Zwarts began her career in New York City, working under celebrated photographers such as Sante D’Orazio and Jason Kibbler, with whom she spent four years refining her craft. Now, she turns her lens inward, reimagining the boundaries between vulnerability and strength through her nuanced interpretation of the nude figure. Her work is deeply rooted in personal experience, exploring resilience, transformation, and the quiet power of hope.
This year, Zwarts received Gold in the Fine Art/Nude category at Prix de la Photographie Paris (PX3), a recognition of her artistry and emotional depth. She will also take part in the ART ICON group show presented alongside Paris Photo.
About Liezl Zwarts
Liezl Zwarts is a South African photographer whose practice spans fine art photography and collaborative portraiture. Her work explores themes of resilience, identity, and the female form as a vessel of lived experience.
Drawing on personal narrative and a meticulous visual language of skin, shadow, and shape, Zwarts creates photographs that are both intimate and universal.
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Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
