Though trained as a photographer, Zwelethu Mthethwa began his career as a painter, and his photographic portraits share many qualities associated with painting. They are large in scale, carefully composed, and full of vibrant color, such as the blues, yellows, and reds of this picture. Mthethwa uses lush color to confront the documentary tradition of black-and-white photography, which has been criticized for dehumanizing its often vulnerable subjects. As he explained in a 2010 interview, “. . . for me, color is a dignifying vehicle.” Many of Mthethwa’s portraits focus on people who migrated from rural South Africa to the margins of Cape Town to find work after the official end to the policy of racial separation known as apartheid. This image belongs to his Hope Chest series. It depicts a woman posing with the intricately carved chest given to her by her family when she married. Hope chests, common to many cultures, traditionally hold cherished objects that young women take to their new homes upon marrying. These items, many of which are domestic furnishings, are collected throughout girlhood and offer the promise of a happy married life. After marriage, they provide a sense of continuity and connection to family and place of origin.