In conversation with the legendary Ruth Motau

Ruth Seopedi Motau is a South African photographer, visual storyteller and artist whose captivating career transcends only by the timeless allure of the images she has captured over the years.

Ruth Seopedi Motau. [Image taken by Wandile Khumalo]

Born in Meadowlands, Motau's journey started in the early 1990s, working as an intern for the Weekly Mail (now the) Mail and Guardian. Motau became the first black woman employed by a newspaper as a staff photographer and held the position of Photo Editor at three major leading newspapers in the country, Mail and Guardian, The Sowetan and City Press.

"When I started, there weren't any black women photographers. I don't know if they took me seriously", says Motau. "I think the wonder of people thinking whether I am doing the right thing allowed me to excel in what I wanted to do because in a state of them wondering, I created what I wanted, and it came out brilliantly," she adds.

Since then, she hasn't put her camera down, approaching each project and the people she photographs with the utmost consideration and respect.

Ruth Motau's images have become critical and monumental symbols of South Africa's photographic history, as she captures pictures in black and white. "I think black and white has a mood on its own. It's an interpretation of my world and how I see things. I see them in colour but interpret them in black and white," explains Motau.

When it comes to her approach to her work, Ruth Motau values the dignity of those she takes images of. As she engages in conversation with others in preparation to take pictures, Motau establishes a relationship between herself and others. "Most of the pictures I document I for ask permission," she says.

"I don't just point a camera at anyone else and then take pictures and leave," she adds. "With all my photographs, you can see that there is a relationship with subtext," she adds. "I have to ask for permission because that person allows you to create images that will tell a story and be part of history," says Motau.

Motau shared with me that her most memorable experience in her career was in her early years as Nelson Mandela's photographer. "I think it was during the Sharpville Massacre celebration, and he was with Bill Clinton. I was the only person who was supposed to follow them very closely in the same room," she recalls.

"It made me realise that as a photographer with a camera, you have the power to direct and do what you want to do and tell stories," says Motau.

"In that instance, I realised that Mandela and Bill Clinton were statesmen of countries and respectable countries. For me, it was like one minute I could photograph Mandela with him in the same room as Bill Clinton and the next second I would be with just ordinary people," said Motau.

Throughout her career, she has learnt many lessons that have helped her cultivate her skill. One of those being to "never stop learning". "I think I'm still learning as a photographer even with the experience that I have. Meeting new people, working with different people and different projects," she said. "One has to humble themselves to be able to create a body of work that will be a legacy for the next generations," she says.

With her images, Motau tells the stories she grew up with. Her curiosity and her camera have allowed her to explore her surroundings. "I always tell younger people when they want to do assignments. Stories are in your backyard. Don't let someone from far tell your story and then misrepresent you. It's better to tell your own stories," she says.

"Most of what I photograph are people that are in my community. Religion and spirituality in the black community is a big thing, it's one of my biggest projects that I'm always doing, and I don't know where it will take me," she adds.

Motau describes her responsibility as a documentary photographer as having respect, humility and being able to tell stories in a dignified way. "I always ask myself... What if it was me, or what if it was my family? How will I tackle it?" she asks.

"How would I want to be portrayed if someone comes and takes pictures of me, my family or my community, especially those close to me? I think in that sense, I have a different approach to how I tackle my stories with humility and respect," she concludes.

Apart from her long-term project called Black Beauty, Motau is compiling an archive of her work, a decidedly significant undertaking even with the help of the Photographer's Legacy Project and Wits University Library. "It's a drop in the ocean," she says. "I will soon have my website, and people will be able to access those images and will also even have to be able to buy some of the collections".

Motau takes on each project with meticulous awareness taking into consideration each step. "All the work is precious to me. I think I cannot single it out. Every project is important because I thought about it and spent time and formed relationships".

"I remember when I was doing a project on child-headed families. When we arrived - the boy was around 11, and the girl was around 5 or 6. The mother had just passed away, and the father had just before. And an uncle was staying with them. It's one of the stories that broke my heart. The boy didn't even have shoes. Luckily, we were the same size, and I took off my shoes and gave them to him," she shares.

"With those stories, you become part of it. As a mother, I felt like I needed to take care of them, but I couldn't because I needed to do a story and follow them," says Motau.

Over the years, what has kept Motau's passion burning and love undying for her work has been revisiting the projects, places she has documented and inspiring work done by other photographers. "Stories are there to be told. What I am doing now has been told before. It is a recycle of this kind of story," says Motau.

Ruth Seopedi Motau [Image taken by Damjan Banjac]