Simphiwe Julia Thabede born 1999 is from Katlehong, the East of Johannesburg. Simphiwe is a female visual artist working with the medium of photography and collage. She draws her inspiration from various artists such as; Pamela Tulizo, Ogorogile Nong and Frida Orupabo to name a few. Simphiwe’s work is influenced by the everyday life encounters and contemporary visual culture, Thabede completed the Foundation and Intermediate Courses in Photography at The Market Photo Workshop in Newtown, Johannesburg.Currently Thabede is completing the Advanced course at Through The Lens Collective, Simphiwe strongly believes that every individual has a story to tell and for her the camera is more than just a device for creating images but it is a tool for communicating and creating dialogues with the self and the outside world.

Ingubo Yomsebenzi
Ingubo Yomsebenzi directly translates to the worker’s garments/clothes, this is the title to my ongoing body of work that looks into domestic work through a personal account. This work seeks to look at the identity of black bodies as domestic workers and the psychological effects ofthe uniform on the wearer.
Historically domestic workers in South Africa were Black African women forced into workingfor whites due to Apartheid’s brutal restrictions on jobs they could perform; even in the present day domestic workers in South Africa still face issues of racial discrimination, exploitation andmistreatment.
Ingubo Yomsebenzi is inspired by the history of domestic work in my family but more especially by my mother, Nozizwe Thabede who is a domestic helper and an active collaborator in this project; being present in my mother’s workspace(s) as an observer and also having the
experience of wearing the uniform I noticed that there is a shift in her personality and that her individuality is somewhat shadowed by the uniform.
This project is a reflection of the stories that I have been told by both my mother and grandmother; Ingubo Yomsebenzi also speaks on the invisibility of the Black body that is seen but never actually taken into consideration. The uniform is a symbol of servitude; it controls
behavior - I view it as an object of subordination and of conditioning to view the wearer as other but I am conscious of the fact that it is not just the uniform that strips people of their individuality or esteem but the perceptions that society has on the occupation.
With this body of work I intend to depict the feelings, the discontentment and the reality of domestic work as I see it in the present day using the mode of self-portraiture and the inclusionof my mother’s portraits – some of which are staged and others not.
This body of work also serves as a letter to my younger embarrassed and ashamed self. I believe that this work will lift the veil of ignorance that I’ve been carrying throughout my life before becoming a Visual Artist, I am hopeful that Ingubo Yomsebenzi will shine light on the less
acknowledged and inspire conversations around present day perceptions of domestic workers in’post - apartheid’ South Africa.