Paul Stopforth

Paul Stopforth is a South African-born artist who began his career under the oppressive apartheid regime in a politically dehumanizing, objectifying contex. One of six artists chosen to represent South Africa at the Valparaiso Biennial International Exhibition in 1981, his submission of two drawings of hands and feet, those of his friend the political activist, Steve Biko, were withdrawn by the government due to their political content. Through the imposition of a number of 'States of Emergency' in the 1980s, the South African government increased its reign of terror and he chose to leave his country with his wife Carol in 1988. Stopforth now teaches at Harvard University.