Emerging Creative: Tshepiso Mabula

Tshepiso Mabula is a photographer and writer born in the Lephalale district of Limpopo, South Africa. Mabula’s interest in photography sparked when during a visit to a family member she was introduced to award-winning South African photographer Santu Mofokeng’s body of work, this then led to her studying photojournalism and documentary photography at the iconic Market Photo workshop. Mabula explores the small things through photography: exposing the humanity in oppositional, chaotic or even boring environments. She captures the dignity in ordinary people, far removed from the glamorous or ideal atmospheres of high-profile photography.

Mabula is a story teller who believes that her calling is to produce work that promotes equity and social unity and seeks to rewrite the narrative and change the perception on marginalised bodies that exist in our everyday culture. She questions ideas that speak to correcting social injustice. She is a visual observer of Bantu living, a township native with suburban dreams and a member of the movement against neo-liberal stokvel politics. Tshepiso a village girl working towards owing her first full a set of Tupperware dishes.