In Conversation with Blendo: When Colours Tell Stories
7 October 2026 · Interview · Blendo, Austria
I recently spoke with Blendo, the German-language photography platform, for an extended interview about Colour Divides, the 2026 Sony World Photography Awards and the wider development of my photographic practice.
Published as part of Blendo’s In-Depth Dialogue series under the title Robby Ogilvie: Wenn Farben Geschichten erzählen — When Colours Tell Stories — the interview traces the story of Colour Divides from the moment it was made in Cape Town’s Bo-Kaap neighbourhood through to its selection as winner of the Object category in the 2026 Sony World Photography Awards. blendo
The conversation looks closely at the making of the photograph: the chance alignment of the blue Ford Cortina against green and pink facades, the role of light and colour within the composition, and the instinctive decision to move into the road to find the precise viewpoint from which the elements aligned. It also considers the historical and social context of Bo-Kaap and the additional meanings that developed around the title Colour Divides. blendo
A significant part of the discussion centres on the fact that the photograph was made using a Google Pixel 6. Rather than treating the mobile phone as secondary to more conventional photographic equipment, the interview considers how immediacy and accessibility have become important parts of my practice, and how the success of Colour Divides strengthened my belief that there need not be a hierarchy between mobile, digital and analogue photography. blendo
The interview also moves beyond the Sony award to discuss my current project Acts of Attention, which made its public debut at Saatchi Gallery during British Art Fair 2026. The project extends many of the questions raised by Colour Divides: what we choose to notice, why certain everyday subjects are considered worthy of sustained attention, and how apparently minor encounters can become meaningful through photography. blendo
Looking ahead, the conversation touches on the continuing development of Acts of Attention and The Visible Unknown, alongside current and forthcoming exhibitions in Denmark, Venice, the Outer Hebrides and further international presentations in 2027. blendo
The interview ultimately returns to a simple idea that has become increasingly central to my practice: what matters is not the status of the camera, but what we notice, why we photograph it and what we bring to the image.
