D. M. Terblanche (b. 1998, South Africa) is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist working in photography. Their practice draws on narrative documentary and portraiture, rooted in autofictional traditions to explore personal and constructed realities. Beginning with cellphone self-portraits, they developed a preference for analog processes while positioning portraiture as an intimate space for self-reflection and confronting the past.
Photography for Terblanche is both personal and political, exploring trauma, uncertainty, and the disquiet following a late autism diagnosis. Their work channels vulnerability into imagery that shifts between introspection and distortion, addressing personal experience with raw emotional honesty. Influences include Nan Goldin, Ren Hang, and Jo Ractliffe.
In 2025, their work was presented by Saint Laurent Babylone, curated by Anthony Vaccarello, Paris, and featured in Gen Z: Shaping a New Gaze by Photo Elysée. They were an inaugural recipient of the "New Eyes: The Roger Ballen Centre for Photography Award" and among ten international winners of Magnum × Polaroid – Real Life is Not Black and White (2024), with work shown at Paris Photo.