Having last exhibited in South Africa six years ago, Sabelo Mlangeni's photography solo NGIYABONA PHAMBILI opens at Umhlabathi Collective in Newtown on Sun, Sep 1 from 12:00.

Sabelo Mlangeni shares a series of landscape photographs taken between 2010 – 2020 in their homecoming solo, NGIYABONA PHAMBILI, at Umhlabathi Collective's gallery space. Major physical alterations to geography and landscape can leave lasting scars, as can neglect or misuse of the environment. When it comes to personal or collective pain and trauma, however, these may remain unseen, leaving no visible marks on the land indicative of the emotional weight it has carried, been a conduit for, or is storing. This is the central notion of Mlangeni's thought-provoking exhibition, curated by Kamogelo Walaza.

"Mlangeni’s photographs are fragile, contemplative, and temporal spaces," reads the curatorial statement. "With this work that has been archived for a decade, they explore the volatility of identity and emphasise the unstable nature of the past/present. The photographs of NGIYABONA PHAMBILI are erased and obscured to varying degrees, leaving traces of the artist’s intervention. These are quiet, meditative artworks, incorporating elements of abstraction, preservation of history, and nostalgia, with a critical comment on the malleability of the photograph." 

On Sat, Sep 7 from 11:00 – 13:00, Dr Kholeka Shange will deliver a talk, followed by a conversation between Sibusiso Gcaba and Tshepiso Mazibuko. On Sat, Sep 28, Modise Sekgothe will host a walkabout and performance in response to the work. The exhibition runs at Umhlabathi Collective until Sat, Oct 5.