Durban - Durban photographer and visual artist Matthew Willman may have photographed 12 presidents, eight Nobel Laureates and a host of stars, but his latest book, Private Space, has been acclaimed a visual masterpiece, an “ode to ballet” in the 21st century.
The book and the accompanying photographic exhibition feature 188 spectacular images of dancers, taken in 42 countries over five years.
For Willman, a dancer himself, it was a personal journey of a photographer with his dancers, every image an intimate moment. The exhibition and a talk by Willman can be enjoyed at St Anne’s College in Hilton this week.
The man who was the official photographer for Nelson Mandela, through the Nelson Mandela Foundation, started life as a dancer. “I was a studio dancer for Napac and remember being the Nutcracker Doll in 1990/91,” he says.
His road to photographer was a “natural progression”. “I grew up as a ballet dancer but I always had an inclination to record things, so photography was a natural choice. Dancing was never going to be a career, it was an interest.”
The creation of Private Space has closed a “huge chapter in my life”, he says. “Going back to a world I’d left behind, but this time as the photographer.”
Willman personally choreo-graphed, directed and lit each image on location, unaided.
“Too many photographers simply chat with the dancer and say ‘What can you do?’ So the dancer ends up doing the choreography and the photographer just presses the shutter. I choreograph every image.
“After all, I’m a dancer and see it from a dancer’s eye. I’m not taking away from the dancer’s ability. We chat about the choreography in the studio, and play around. But I know where they’re good, and not every dancer can do every move.”
Willman started work on the dance portraits while Nelson Mandela was still alive.
“I’m a documentary photographer so I started applying to shoot with ballet companies, but nothing came of it. I didn’t have a portfolio of work to back me up,” he says.
“So I’d contact the dancers via social media. If I was coming to New York for other work, I’d take an extra three or four days to shoot dancers, sometimes literally waiting outside the stage door. After all dancers are private property.
“As the portfolio progressed, I developed the courage to approach ballet companies like Vienna, Hong Kong and Cape Town, and doors started to open. I’ve met some amazing dancers,” he says.
Willman has been a documentary photographer across Africa for a variety of UN organisations for 20 years.
“I’ve been from Ethiopia to Cape Town shooting mainly development issues, like HIV/Aids, malaria, gender issues and human rights.”
He is proud of his portraits of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his official commission for Barack Obama.
He also tells how he came to meet pop star Annie Lennox.
“She came in for a shoot with Mandela. At these shoots I would focus on Mandela. I kind of gave her a glance and afterwards had a full on conversation about her humanitarian work with HIV/Aids.
“She said: ‘Do you want to work for me for a couple of weeks?’ She was flying to Mthatha the next day. I gave her my rates. I didn’t even know who she was.
“Driving out, someone said: ‘Do you realise who the person is? That’s Annie Lennox’.
“We became friends and in 2004, when she won an Oscar for the The Lord of the Rings soundtrack, I get a call from her at seven in the morning. Here she is holding an Academy Award and should be out partying, and she’s phoning me,” he says.
The man who has published two books, We Called Him Madiba, and Tripping Over Presidents, hopes to publish more in the future.
He is already working with rhino conservation.
“I hope to raise funds through the sale of my art connecting myself with things I’m passionate about,” he says.
Catch Willman at St Anne’s on August 14 at 5.30pm. The exhibition is on August 13 and 14.