Sabelo Mlangeni
b. 1980, South Africa
Ruby’s Hair, 2019
Hand-printed silver gelatin print
40x30cm
Edition of 7
This image is from a photographic essay titled The Royal House of Allure, which is centred on this titular institution in Lagos. It provides a safe-space for members of the queer community in Nigeria to live.
“The Royal House of Allure contains simple images that reveal the complexities behind representation. The images diverge at a single specific point; those that display fantasy through glamour where subjects actively pose for the camera and those that offer quieter banal moments where subjects are simply going on about their day at the house: braiding each other’s hair, having conversations, sewing clothes, napping, cooking, laughing and taking selfies. They offer us a glimpse of the love and acceptance between community members within the social structure of a House,” writes Nkgopoleng Moloi in a statement for the gallery.
“The Royal House of Allure contains simple images that reveal the complexities behind representation. The images diverge at a single specific point; those that display fantasy through glamour where subjects actively pose for the camera and those that offer quieter banal moments where subjects are simply going on about their day at the house: braiding each other’s hair, having conversations, sewing clothes, napping, cooking, laughing and taking selfies. They offer us a glimpse of the love and acceptance between community members within the social structure of a House,” writes Nkgopoleng Moloi in a statement for the gallery.