Ogorogile Nong, (b.1999) is a South African Visual Artist from the South of Johannesburg. In 2020 Nong completed his Foundation Course at the Market Photo Workshop later that year he was part of an art group based in San Antonio, USA. Selected as an emerging photographer to exhibit his series, ‘Pearl Daughters’. He completed the Intermediate Course At the Market Photo Workshop during the year 2021. He was part of the student development program for Canon Europe in (2021). Nong became one of the students selected to work on the reebok love and equality campaign in October 2021 and later he was featured in the Through The Lens collective annual portrait show in November (2021). Nong completed the Advanced Photography Course at Through The Lens Collective where he developed his body of work centered around global warming and its effects not only on himself but people around him as well. Nong was also Part of “The Nature Of Photography” group exhibition that took place earlier this year (2022) at Through The Lens Collective.

Inside Outside

This work addresses some of my own perceptions and misconceptions, looking at ideas around identity that include fundamentals like skin, physical space, communication amongst Africans, history and how this has shaped what is taking place now.

It required a deep introspection to address my own beliefs and mindset regarding this crucial topic, as a result the work is a reflection on my understanding of Xeno-Phobia.

I define Xenophobia as a fear of the unknown or a fear of finding oneself in an unfamiliar space, starting at the root of the issue to see how the definition translates and manifests itself in different ways in our everyday life.  I attempted to unpack or to present at least a layer of this fear of the 'other' that presented itself. The first layer to unpack is that of one's own identity, this highlights the separation of the self which fuels the attitude of “othering”. 

Looking at someone as the other, not the same. Xenophobia is a complex issue and our own perceptions play a huge role in influencing our attitudes towards how we interact with one another or just in general how one views certain spaces.