Sabelo Mlangeni was born in Driefontein near Wakkerstroom in Mpumalanga. In 2001 he moved to Johannesburg where he joined the Market Photo Workshop, graduating in 2004. He won the Tollman Award for the Visual Arts in 2009. His first solo show, Invisible Women, took place at Warren Siebrits, Johannesburg (2007). Important group exhibitions include Figures and Fictions: Contemporary South African photography at the V&A Museum, London (2011); I am not afraid: The Market Photo Workshop, Johannesburg, Johannesburg Art Gallery (2010); Obsession, PhotoZA Gallery (2004); Johannesburg Circa Now, Johannesburg Art Gallery (2005); Gender & Visual Exhibitions, District Six Museum (2005); and Positive: Pulse at Sun International, Sun City (2003).
Sabelo Mlangeni is represented by Stevenson Cape Town and Johannesburg.