Introduction
Jillian Edelstein is a London-based photographer.
Life and career
Edelstein was brought up in Cape Town, South Africa. Whilst studying Anthropology, Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at The University of Cape Town she realized her interests lay elsewhere and started assisting at local photographic studio and then became a staff photographer of The Rand Daily Mail and The Star newspaper. Whilst on assignment she created an image which was selected for The World Press Photo competition.
In 1985 she moved to London to study photography at the London College of Printing. She worked the New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The FT Weekend Magazine, Vanity Fair, and Interview, L'Uomo Vogue, Port, The Guardian Weekend, The Sunday Times Magazine, Time Magazine, Fortune, Elle, W Magazine, GQ and Esquire.
Between 1996 and 2002 she returned to South Africa frequently to document the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which was published by Granta, Mail and Guardian and The New Press. The book won the John Kobal book Award and the work was awarded Visa d'or at Visa pour l'Image Perpignan 2016. The work was exhibited at The Gateway to Robben Island Museum, Cape Town in 2010.
In 2002 she was awarded an Honorary Fellowship at The Royal Photographic Society .
Affinities is an ongoing project that began as a regular feature in The Telegraph Magazine under the title Soulmates. 'Sangoma' another project also started from a Sunday Times Magazine commission.
In the run up to the Olympics 2012 Edelstein was commissioned by The National Portrait Gallery and BT to produce a series of 17 portraits of those working to make the Olympic and Paralympic Games happen. The Road to 2012: Aiming High was opened by the Duchess of Cambridge at the start of the Games. She has travelled to Africa, China, India and South America for various campaigns including FXB International, Oxfam and Save the Children.
In 2014 she judged the World Press Awards, and the Taylor Wessing Awards in 2010.
Her photographs have been exhibited at venues including the National Portrait Gallery, The Photographers' Gallery, Tom Blau Gallery, The Royal Academy, OXO Gallery in London, Les Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie in Arles, France, Bensusan Museum, Johannesburg, Robben Island Museum in Cape Town, South Africa and Dali International Photography Festival, Yunnan Province, China.