Ngcobo’s ‘Ode to Mama’ is her most personal project, using the relationship between photographer and subject to better know her mother. She writes:
‘Ode to Mama’ is a series about motherly and daughterly love photographed at home in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. My mother is the subject of the series and the axis of my life, who I know well but want to know better. I achieve this by turning my camera on her, but also in a way upon myself. I am a single mother myself, and since having my daughter I find the curiosity I have about my own relationship with my mom essential in shaping how I play my role now. The bond between women in my family is complex and difficult to talk about, yet the process of capturing my mother at home opens up a platform for discussion for both of us. I muse over my mother, the ever-willing subject, and the joy I get from the process of photographing her. These personal photographs of my mother raise themes of trust, comfort, loyalty, support, and a search for identity. In a sense, this series is an ode to her, for her support, sacrifice and strength, and the labours of love we both undertake in knowing and loving each other.
