A selection of images from “It Must Be Built From Ashes”, by documentary photographer Justin Keene. Based between the UK and South Africa, Keene is currently pursuing a masters degree in documentary photography from the University of South Wales. He explains that his work aims to confront the ethics of viewership in South Africa by questioning our global presence in the production of a postcolony, while interpreting a sense of self in modern-day South Africa.

“Mitchells Plain, on the outskirts of Cape Town, is a purpose-built relocation area that developed following forced removals from Cape Town’s inner-city during the country’s apartheid regime,” Keene explains. “It Must Be Built From Ashes” offers a portrait of the communities and youth of Mitchells Plain and the Cape Flats, challenging mainstream narratives while exploring interpretations of home and belonging. The project evaluates notions of citizenship and place-related identity, creating a renewed visual economy for the area and its people. 

See more from “It Must Be Built From Ashes” below.