Private Space
‘Private Space’ is a visual masterpiece, a collection of 188 images compiled into this one beautiful book. The collection took 5 years to produce working with 88 dancers from 42 countries on 5 continents.
There is a relationship between a dancer and a photographer. The two it seems are married to each other not by the means with which they achieve their greatness, but rather by their passion that creates the magic. No great photographer was without their camera, yet no one will say the photographers’ talent lay with the camera. No great dancer was without their stage, yet no one ever said a dancer’s greatness was because of the stage. It’s not about the stage and it’s not about the camera. The art lies solely with the creativity and imagination of these two artists. Both with years of training and experience who if for only a few moments have the power to move the audience into a space that is somewhere between reality and the dream.
‘Private Space’ is a visual master piece an ode to ballet. A personal journey of a photographer with his dancers. Every image is an intimate moment, a private love affair expressed by dancers from around the world.
22 Years
This body of work is my way of piecing together so many episodic moments over the past 22 years as a photographer. Any inadequacies, short comings and pitfalls have all somehow been overcome by this surreal, diverse eclectic collection that is my life. The constant of time and the permanent nature of change has indeed had its effects. But the image is what has the power to hold it all forever, unchanged, always there, like testimonies carved in stone.
By pulling together hundreds of images, hundreds of moments, stories and experiences I am able to look back and celebrate how precious, how fleeting and how miraculous life is.
Stepping Away
With Mandela now a distant memory, Willman is faced with the challenge of redefining who he is in a country and a world that is constantly changing.
Following on from his first autobiography ‘Tripping Over Presidents’ this long awaited sequel goes the distance in revealing so much more of what lies hidden behind the scenes in search of a life less ordinary.
This is a personal account of Matthew Willman’s continual evolution both as a photographer and as an influencer among peers and audiences he engages with around the world. In his usual delightful way Matthew preaches without preaching, telling stories that dispel the myth of a ‘happily ever after’ without ever ruining the pantomime is certainly an art.
‘Stepping Away’ is the next chapter, a remarkably personal story of his relationship with the world.
Tripping Over Presidents
This is the remarkable true story of a young man faced with the challenges of making a photographic career for himself. With a spirited determination Willman set out to discover both himself and others and to ‘participate in the world’. In the process he has had the privilege of meeting and interacting with many great leaders, musicians and artists and those on the periphery of society. Willman’s single-minded determination to shake the hand of Nelson Mandela started him on a journey few could ever imagine.
Matthew Willman is a photographer, story teller, documentarian and unconventional adventurer all rolled into one. His quest to break down the barriers that define our stereotypes, stigma’s, protocols and authorities have afforded him many incredible opportunities to not only photograph the world but to engage with it.
This book is an opportunity to share some of those stories. It may leave you wanting to hear more. It will definitely inspire you to follow your own dreams and begin your own explorations of the adventure we call ‘life’.
We Called Him Madiba
A superb keepsake book by photographer Matthew Willman. Documented over 10 years this beautiful book of images shares some truly intimate and remarkable photographs captured during private photographic sessions with Nelson Mandela himself. The book also includes photographs that portray the greater story of Mandela’s life with images that capture landscapes from Mandela’s early years, his life on Robben Island and a remarkable array of in-between moments that ultimately celebrates the life of Nelson Mandela by a photographer who as a young boy dreamed to one day shake the hand of Nelson Mandela.