'Madlisa' (Country Girls Series)
Sabelo Mlangeni
2009
© Sabelo Mlangeni
Courtesy of Michael Stevenson, Cape Town

Sabelo Mlangeni, born 1980

Mlangeni lives and works in Johannesburg. Describing himself as a 'camera man', he is engaged with the documentary tradition and produces visual essays, gaining access over long periods to overlooked subcultures and communities.

The Men Only series focuses on the run-down George Goch hostel, Johannesburg. Built in 1961 to house migrant mineworkers, today it is still open only to men, typically taxi drivers and security guards. Mlangeni uses soft focus shots and close-ups to move beyond this stereotypical image of it as a violent and unlawful place and to convey glimpses of male intimacy and daily life.The Country Girls series was taken over a period of six years. It is a personalised portrait of gay life in rural areas. The 'girls' are cross-dressing men whom Mlangeni photographs clothed as he finds them, and who perform self-consciously for the camera.

'Most of the people and spaces that I work with are forgotten in our fast-moving society. I look at those things that people shy away from in the world, and use that to tell my stories. The "Country Girls" started in 2003; it was the wedding of my friend Arthur and Thando, his boyfriend, in Ermelo. When I was invited there, I saw there was a group of gay guys living in different small towns in Mpumalanga, from Piet Retief to Ermelo,Standerton and Secunda and Bethal. From 2004 sometimes I would go visitthem once a year, but from 2008 I started to visit them more. Because in the time that I've spent with them, the one thing that I've noticed is their "togetherness". They are very close to each other; it's like a small community of gay men where even if they have problems and issues from the community about their sexuality they are still able to push it! Because for me, coming out as a gay man with a dress, is a very political thing."

Sabelo Mlangeni, interviewed by Tamar Garb, South Africa, 
                                                                                                                                         2010