
Pensioners Waiting at a Pay Point at Mzimhlophe, Soweto
1991 · Gelatin silver print
Image: 16.5 × 23.4 cm (6 1/2 × 9 1/4 in.); paper: 18.4 × 25.4 cm (7 1/4 × 10 in.)
Art Institute of Chicago

Ruth Seopedi Motau works in social documentary photography rooted in photojournalism, with a sustained focus on the marginalisation of Black people and communities in South Africa. Based in Johannesburg, she made history as the first Black female photographer employed as a photo editor by a South African newspaper. Her images operate in the tradition of committed documentary practice, bearing witness to conditions of social and political exclusion with a directness shaped by her journalism background.
Source: Aic · Trust score: 70% · Updated 2mo ago