Edinburgh native Robby Ogilvie was visiting South Africa when he took this image. “I’d spent the first week in and around Kruger national park, photographing the culture, landscapes and wildlife, before moving on to Cape Town.”
Along with a friend from South Africa, Ogilvie visited the neighbourhood of Bo-Kaap. “The area is known for its brightly coloured houses, but it also carries a rich and complex history. There was a real feeling of community, and many of the houses felt like open studios; artists had taken over spaces to exhibit and sell their work.”
Ogilvie didn’t know it at the time, but the Ford Cortina in the shot is a familiar feature of the area, and is known affectionately as Cortie. “As soon as I saw it, I knew the image. I could see how it would sit within the frame and how the colours, the road and the deep uninterrupted blue of the sky, would hold the composition,” he says.
The shotis the winner of the Object category in the Sony world photography awards 2026.
Afterwards, the pair headed to the V&A Waterfront area of Cape Town, which Ogilvie describes as “very different – modern and upscale”. “Already I could get a sense of division within the city,” he adds. It’s a theme reflected in his choice of title. “In a country shaped by visible and invisible lines, it is difficult to ignore how space can both connect and separate.”
• The Sony World Photography awards 2026 exhibition is at Somerset House, London, 17 April-4 May.
