Michael MacGarry (b. 1978, Johannesburg, RSA) is an artist and filmmaker based in Johannesburg. His multidisciplinary practice examines socio-political and economic narratives, particularly within the context of Africa, articulated through a post-humanist and autobiographical lens. Working across sculpture, film, painting, installation, and writing, MacGarry interrogates structures of power, migration, labour, and globalisation, revealing how these forces shape both personal and collective experience.

His work explores the material and psychological residues of colonialism and capitalism, often using industrial and found materials to question cycles of production, consumption, and waste. Through film and moving image, he extends these inquiries into speculative and narrative dimensions, mapping the shifting intersections between human agency, technology, and landscape.

MacGarry’s exhibitions and screenings include Guggenheim Bilbao, Tate Modern, Zeitz MOCAA, the Carthage Film Festival, Rencontres de Bamako, VideoBrasil, Film Festival Oberhausen, International Film Festival Rotterdam, the Flaherty Seminar, and Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival.

An important voice among contemporary South African artists, MacGarry’s practice continues to evolve across disciplines, uniting conceptual precision with a deeply critical and poetic visual language. His work is held in major collections including the Iziko South African National Gallery, Seattle Art Museum, and Wits Art Museum, and he has exhibited internationally at institutions such as Tate and Guggenheim Bilbao.