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 Mlangeni is presented at Biennale Arte.
—Tandanzani Dhlakama
