Alastair Whitton is a South African artist and photographer based in Cape Town. A former gallery director and curator of more than one hundred exhibitions, his ongoing practice now encompasses his own exhibition and photo-book projects. He graduated with distinction from the Natal Technikon School of Fine Art in Durban (1994) majoring in photography and sculpture. In the same year he was an Absa L’atelier national merit award winner in Johannesburg. As the overall top student in the faculty of arts and design he was awarded the Emma Smith International Scholarship enabling him to further his studies at the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland (1995). His work was selected by Paris based curator, Michket Krifa for inclusion in the 8th Bamako Encounters African Photography Biennale in Mali (2009). More recently he was nominated for and subsequently awarded an Ampersand Foundation Fellowship (2025) in acknowledgement of his achievements within, and contribution towards, the creative arts in South Africa.

He has presented solo exhibitions in Johannesburg and Cape Town and internationally at Photo London (2022 & 2020) and AKAA: Also Known as Africa, Paris (2019). To date, his photographs have been included in curated group exhibitions at notable international museums, institutions and art fairs. Highlights include AKAA: Also Known As Africa, Paris (2018 & 2017); Pratt Institute, New York City (2016); Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice (2015); Museo Carlo Bilotti, Rome (2014); Center for Book Arts, New York City (2014); Casa dei Carraresi, Treviso (2014); Editions: Artists’ Book Fair, New York City (2013); Head On Photo Festival, Sydney (2013); Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon (2011); Foto Museum, Antwerp (2010) and Editions: Artists’ Book Fair, New York City (2009).

In South Africa his work has been selected for inclusion in curated group exhibitions at the country’s leading museums and institutions including amongst others the Norval Foundation, Cape Town (2023); Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town (2020-2021); University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg (2017);  Johannesburg Art Museum, Johannesburg (2010); IZIKO South African National Gallery, Cape Town (2010 & 1997); University of South Africa, Pretoria (2009); Africus: Institute for Contemporary Art, Johannesburg (1997) and the Durban Art Museum, Durban (1995 & 1994).

His work is represented in various public and private collections in South Africa and abroad including the National Arts Library at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2025); Orms Heritage Collection (2023), Cape Town; Kilbourn Collection, Cape Town (2020); Aperture Foundation Library Collection, New York City (2019); Luciano Benetton Collection, Venice (2015); Jack Ginsberg Centre for Book Arts, Johannesburg (2014); University of South Africa, Pretoria (2013); Ellerman Collection, Cape Town (2010); National Museum of Mali, Bamako (2009); South African Centre for Photography, Cape Town (2001) and the Durban Art Museum, Durban (1995).

To date there have been two publications of his photographic works. The first, titled A Foreign Land (Black Box Publishing, 2020) included an introduction by internationally celebrated artist Marlene Dumas and a scholarly text by South African writer Alexandra Dodd, author of David Goldblatt: The Last Interview (Steidl, 2019).

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