Melanie Cleary
Born in 1970, lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa
Melanie Cleary is a self-taught photographer who has worked freelance for the past 10 years. Her photographs are anchored within a genre of socio-political commentary, with a strong focus on portraiture. Her 2009 series, The Hero Within, through which she explored the body building subculture in the Cape Peninsula, received critical acclaim.
Cleary’s interest lies in documenting the marginalized and the disadvantaged in society. She is a patient photographer, she likes to take her time, and can spend months or sometimes years with her subjects to present a developing series in a chronological order.
Cleary’s long anticipated second solo exhibition is scheduled to open later this year.
Cleary was a finalist in the Celeste Prize 2011.