For documentary photographer, Toka Hlongwane, a new photo series is meant to capture the experiences of the people he’s met on his journeys in South Africa and to convey what it means to be black there. At times gritty and disturbing, the images are nonetheless evocative of day-to-day life in the country. Istayela Baba Wam (2017) is a picture of a dapper old man in Johannesburg’s CBD dressed to the nines with gold rings, gold chains and gold-tinged spectacles. With Impilo ka Darkie, Hlongwane has offered us an imperfect but compelling insight into the lives of the people he has encountered through his travels. Whether this is the sum total of Black experience will be up to the viewer to decide.
SOURCE: OKAYAFRICA
More Stories
Top 5 African Travel Destinations To Visit This August
African Countries that don’t Require a Visa to Enter South Africa
South Africans are Now Swelling the Ranks of Explorers Shouldering Backpacks
Getting around West Africa’s Most Populous City can be an Adventure in Itself
The Mauritian Dream
The Newly Reopened Africa Centre Celebrates the Continent’s Culture (and Seriously Chic Room Dividers)
From Bold Prints to Gender Defying Clothes: 4 Things to Know About Contemporary African Fashion
Meet the Nigerian Artist Visualizing Africa’s Future by Reaching into the Past
En Vogue
Interview: Director K is Making Historic Afrobeats Music Videos
Nigeria has Promised to Legalize Local Refineries and Set Up Refining Hubs in the Niger Delta
Central African Ministers Agree to Merge Two Regional Blocs to Boost Trade and Growth