Sabelo Mlangeni

MPUMALANGA, SOUTH AFRICA, 1980. LIVES IN JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
Sabelo Mlangeni is a photographer who draws attention to beauty, affection,
vulnerability, and the mundane in unexpected places. Mlangeni's
seminal work includes Country Girls
(2003-2009), Black Men in Dress
(2011), and The Royal House of Allure
(2020). Always refusing to centralise
violence, all three bodies of work highlight queer individuals in states of repose, rest, or revelry. To capture such intimacy, trust and proximity are usually a prerequisite. Hence, Mlangeni often spends long periods of time with the people he is framing to ensure that he captures both their particular aura as well as broader universal experiences.
The Royal House of Allure is the name of an LGBTQI+ safe house in Lagos, Nigeria. Mlangeni communed with its residents, making images of celebratory
moments as well as ordinary settings of people lounging about. In a similar manner, though located in South Africa, Country Girls and Black Men in Dress depict the elegant, defiant, sentimental
aspects of queer life in places often perceived to be menacing.
This is the first time the work of
Sabelo Mangeni is presented
at Biennale Arte.
-Tandanzani Dhlakama