Made In Katlehong

Kamohelo Mahlatsi, 2020/21

Katlehong, one of South Africa’s largest townships, has been persistently defined through images of crime and hardship—representations that flatten its complexity and shape both external perception and internal identity. This project emerges from a desire to confront that imbalance and reclaim the visual narrative of my community.

Working exclusively at night, I turn toward what is routinely overlooked. Darkness—so often associated with danger—becomes a space of quiet luminosity. Using only available light from street lamps, traffic signals, fires, and minibus taxis, the images transform everyday scenes into moments of stillness and contemplation.

There is no spectacle of trauma here. Instead, the work offers an alternative archive: one that foregrounds atmosphere, presence, and the subtle beauty embedded in daily life. By resisting dominant portrayals, the series expands how Katlehong can be seen and understood.

Ultimately, this is an act of re-seeing—an invitation to move beyond stereotype, and to recognize the dignity and complexity that have always existed within the township.