A PHOTOGRAPHER’S PASSION – 22 Years
22 YEARS
Celebrated south african documentary photographer and author matthew willman’s latest book, 22 years, is a collection of over 280 images selected from his 22 years as a photographer around the world, for the first time brought together under one title.
AN EXTRAORDINARY BOOK
22 Years is an extraordinary visual account of a photographer’s lifelong passion to engage with the world. His images go beyond borders, they transcend boundaries, exploring in intimate detail the lives of people and places few have ventured to discover.
As a photographer, Willman is undaunted by the unknown. His work explores the “human condition” wherever it is found. Each image in the book opens up a fascinating world of episodic moments that so many take for granted.
After working with over 65 organisations as a visual specialist in documentary photography, 22 Years now showcases the behind the scenes experiences, and the fleeting moments that go unnoticed, transforming the ordinary and mundane into extraordinary moments captured forever.
This book is a rich tapestry of life, a testimony of one person’s determination to go beyond the confines of his own world to explore a rich cross-section of life, genres, cultures, creativity, ability and geography. Matthew Willman does this through a remarkable collection of photographs documented over many years and now celebrated as our own.
WHO IS MATTHEW WILLMAN?
Willman has emerged as one of South Africa’s leading independent artists. He has expressed himself through an extraordinary body of work which has included writing, storytelling and photographic exhibitions. Willman has gained over 20 years’ experience working for some of the world’s foremost institutions in the field of visual communication, development, visual arts and leadership. A true global citizen, Willman has worked in 42 countries, tailoring his inventive brand of communication to the needs of an array of clients, including Oxfam International, The World Health Organisation, The Nelson Mandela Foundation, Robben Island Museum and The European Commission.
Willman has also had the pleasure of being commissioned to photograph individuals from a cross-section of the global community, including US Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Car ter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, President FW De Klerk, musician Annie Lennox, eight Nobel Laureates and a host of sports personalities, musicians, politicians and philanthropists.
Perhaps one of Willman’s greatest achievements was his significant contribution to the recording of the process of South Africa’s democratic change.This occurred both in his work as a commissioned photographer to the Nelson Mandela Foundation, and through 10 years of work with former president Nelson Mandela himself. In 2003 Matthew was commissioned to archive and document the life and times of Nelson Mandela. His collection of work is now central to the Mandela Centre of Memory & Presidential Library in Johannesburg.
“22 Years” is available for purchase exclusively from www.matthewwillman.co.za.