A BLACK-AND-WHITE photograph of a dead man lying on the ground that is hanging on the wall of the Johannesburg Art Gallery tells a painful story of apartheid.

The picture is among photographs that are part of a group exhibition titled: South African Photography from 1950 to 2010.

The photos were taken by photographers such as Bonile Bam, Jodi Bieber, Pierre Crocquet, David Goldblatt, Bob Gosani, George Hallett, Alf Kumalo, Ranjith Kally, Peter Magubane, Santu Mofokeng, GR Naidoo, Cedric Nunn, Mikhael Subotzky and Andrew Tshabangu

The project that takes you back to the 1950s is curated by art historian, Dr Ralf-P Seippel.

The struggle photos exhibition gives insight into the country's social, political and cultural aspects, as well as the economic situation and the struggle for survival in the mega cities.

The photographs tell the story of life in the period of apartheid and reveal the truth about segregation.

The exhibition is divided chronologically into three main time periods: pictures taken between 1950 and 1976, highlighting the apartheid era and those taken from 1976 to 1994, focusing on the struggle, and those taken from 1994 to 2010, looking at the impact of freedom.

There are images that highlight brutal murders, demonstrations, violence, brutality of imprisonment and the struggle for freedom, a chapter that the country would want to forget quickly.

Among the pictures is a photo of a sexy and lively Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in her youthful age. Pictures of Nelson Mandela, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela and the 1976 uprising are also part of the exhibition.

Also featured are 21st century photos that show a South Africa in recovery and immense development, democracy and freedom, alongside an understanding of the work still to be done and the inequalities that remain.

Since 1994, everyone is allowed to vote and there is freedom of speech and gender equality. Though the rain has come, dusty stains still remain. The exhibition runs until January 11.