Toka Hlongwane is a Johannesburg-based documentary photographer whose work often casts a lens on society’s underclass. His most recent photo series, Impilo ka Darkie, shot over five years, is Hlongwane’s attempt to answer two questions: what does it mean to be Black? And, above that, what is the measure of Black life?

Part of Impilo ka Darkie’s appeal is that it also documents Hlongwane’s growth as a photographer. As the years roll on, his composition becomes stronger, the focus on his pictures becomes much sharper and a storyline begins to emerge in his work.

“I moved to Cape Town in 2014,” says the Thokoza-born photographer over the phone. “But two years into my stay, there were small things about the city that made me realise impilo ka darkie (black life) is shit. Cape Town is one of those places that make you realise you’re Black. Head to the CBD in Jozi and there’s a Black person on every street corner; even in some of the most secure suburbs, there’s some sort of Black presence around. That’s not the case in Cape Town. Something about that realisation made me want to interrogate what it means to be Black.”

Read the full article on OkayAfrica