//FROM PHONE JOCKEY TO PHOTOGRAPHER
CELEBRATING THE JOY IN LIFE'S MUNDANE MOMENTS
ONE OF THE MOST EVOCATIVE PICTURES ON KGOMOTSO NETO’S INSTAGRAM PAGE DEPICTS THREE YOUNG GIRLS RUNNING SIDE BY SIDE. WHAT GRABS THE VIEWER’S ATTENTION ISN’T THE STRIKING CONTRAST BETWEEN SUBJECT AND BACKGROUND. IT’S THE ARRESTING EXPRESSIONS OF PURE JOY ON EACH YOUNG FACE. NETO, IT SEEMS, HAS FROZEN THE PRECISE MOMENT WHEN A GIGGLE ERUPTED FROM CAREFREE LIPS, TO LIVE ON IN PERPETUITY.
These are the kind of images he loves, as both a viewer and a photographer. “My goal is always to capture a moment that will touch the soul of the person looking at it – and any time I manage to do this I consider it a massive achievement.” Musing that “most of the pictures depicting the black experience, both online and in the press, are about struggle”, Neto strives to rewrite the black narrative by showing moments of happiness, affection and light-heartedness.
These are the emotions that have caught his eye ever since he first started shooting back in 2012, using his iPhone 5.Working at a call centre at the time, Neto says that taking pictures wasn’t about becoming a photographer – he was simply amassing a random collection of images, usually of his friends or familiar landmarks on his way to work.This was the burgeoning era of Tumblr and Instagram, and the positive feedback Neto received on these platforms encouraged him to buy a camera.
His evolution into the profession was far from planned. “As a kid, I was more into music than art, even though I used to draw a lot when I was at school.That fell away, because in GaMaja [the Limpopo village where he grew up], no one really encouraged you to be an artist. Parents thought that professions like medicine were more something to aspire to.”
Neto grew up around pictures. Albums full of the photos his grandfather had taken of his mother and her siblings were always lying around the house. Even so, he has no recollection of these influencing the way he saw the world.“I had no formal
training and knew nothing about visual language or composition. I just shot what I saw and what I was into – things like taxi drivers, or the stories behind what people were doing.”
That didn’t stop him from quitting his job to focus on his photography full-time though. Some might say it was a daring move, especially considering his lack of training, but it’s a move which Neto explains is rather typical for him. Not prone to overthinking, he generally follows his gut instinct and goes with what feels right.
This philosophy informs his pictures, too. “People always ask me how I know something is going to make a good photo, and the answer is that I don’t. I just know that, if it feels good, then it’s a good shot.” Far from detracting from his work, this spontaneity enhances it – in fact, Neto’s belief is that the more you know about something, the more you limit yourself.
Certainly, he says, the skills he’s accrued since learning more about his craft on YouTube and the Internet have changed the way he looks at it. “Instead of acting impulsively, I think more about things that I wouldn’t previously have considered, because I know more about the rules. I shoot with more intention now; I’m more aware of myself as a photographer in the spaces where I shoot.” While he may rue the lack of spontaneity this has resulted in, this often works to his advantage. Neto is keenly aware of the impact he may have on his subjects, and tries hard to insert himself into each scene without disrupting it, so that he captures people at their most authentic.
The result is “a new way of telling stories”, often blending street photography with commentary and editorial, as he did in his series Turning Heads, which focused on people’s relationship with their hair.
The work being showcased at Johannesburg’s Bree Street Taxi rank is another case in point. This was an especially significant exhibition, Neto reveals, because the taxi industry has long held a fascination for him, and the opportunity to hold a mirror to the grime and bustle of Johannesburg was irresistible. More than this, Neto is a massive proponent of street art, and relished the chance to bring his pictures out of galleries and take them directly to the people whose lives they reflect.
“I think that becoming a photographer has made me more aware of how people live, especially when my job takes me to different countries. It’s made me realise that we may be different, but in some aspects we’re all the same.”
It’s also made him realise the importance of reclaiming the black narrative.“For years, black people’s stories have been told by people who haven’t lived their experiences. It’s a privilege for me to be able to tell those stories.”