Inside ‘Habitat’: A Photographic Dialogue of Homes, Hope, and Humanity

Habitat is a meeting point for contrasting perspectives that honour the township as a layered, living space.

WORDS Benjamin Kollenberg

In a city still defined by inequality and spatial injustice, the work of building equitable communities goes far beyond constructing homes. It’s about cultivating ecosystems — physical and social — that allow dignity, creativity, and opportunity to thrive side by side. The Empower project is a long-term initiative building affordable housing and infrastructure for vulnerable communities across Cape Town. Habitat, the exhibition currently on show at the UTTE Studio, is the first project to grow directly from this foundation — expanding beyond construction to create a platform for cultural expression, and reflecting the importance of investing not only in buildings, but in community centres, food gardens, childcare networks, and, most importantly, people.

The exhibition pairs the work of Endinalo Moni, a talented 22-year-old photographer from Site C, Khayelitsha, with that  of Norwegian photographer Are Carlsen, known internationally for his work on architecture and the urban environment. Together, they offer contrasting — but simultaneously complementary — views of township life. Their work challenges the dominant narratives that too often reduce complex communities to singular, flattened portrayals.

Moni’s story is closely tied to the Empower project. As a child, he grew up in one of the Empower homes built through the Empower Khayelitsha housing initiative. Years later, after developing his voice as a photographer, he met the UTTE team at an exhibition and after realising our commonality, the collaboration conversation began. This was the departure point for the shared vision and curatorial process and ultimately the collaborative exhibition that is Habitats. From the outset, the goal was to provide not just a platform for Moni’s work, but to support the broader creative ecosystem of which he is a part.

As the idea for the exhibition developed, Moni was introduced to Carlsen, who had recently begun working in Khayelitsha to document the Empower housing and community upgrades. While Carlsen initially arrived to photograph buildings, his focus quickly shifted toward the life around them — street scenes, spontaneous portraits, the daily rhythms that animate the township. Despite a 35-year age difference and vastly different cultural reference points, Carlsen and Moni found common ground in their approach: both are drawn to the nuance and complexity behind everyday moments, and both resist the oversimplified lens through which townships are often viewed.

Yet stylistically, their work could not be more different. Carlsen’s photographs are filled with people — candid expressions, social gestures, shared moments. Moni, by contrast, presents a township without human figures. His images, shot on film, depict space, texture, and trace. A parked car; an abandoned home; an impossibly empty thoroughfare. His absence of people becomes a presence of story.

This visual tension forms the core of Habitat. Carlsen, the outsider, enters the township with curiosity and care, capturing its vibrancy from the ground up. Moni, the insider, steps back, offering a view that is introspective, architectural, and deeply rooted. One looks in; the other looks out. One shoots digital; the other, film. One documents people; the other, place. In this dichotomy, something powerful emerges — a portrait of coexistence, of multiplicity, of the township as a layered, living space.

The exhibition also brings into focus the relationships that make projects like this possible: between local and global, between youth and experience, and between built environments and the people who inevitably shape them. While the work speaks for itself, it is underpinned by an approach that values trust, intentionality, and the long arc of community investment. There is a beautiful cyclical moment in Moni, once living in an Empower home, now collaborating with the studio.  

All artworks in Habitat are available for sale, with proceeds going directly to the artists and to furthering UTTE’s ongoing work in housing, infrastructure, and social support in Site C and surrounding areas. The exhibition will run through August, with public viewings and appointments available at the UTTE Studio.

Ultimately, Habitat reframes how we see Khayelitsha. Not as a space defined solely by its challenges, but as a habitat — complex, beautiful, and full of possibility. Through the opposing lenses of Moni and Carlsen, we are reminded that no place contains just one story — and that telling more of them is a step toward building something better.

Habitat is on view at UTTE Studio, Cape Town, through August. For viewings and inquiries, contact [email protected]

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