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Direct enquiries:
fyi@stevemarais.com

Bio:

STEVE MARAIS is a South African born photographer, creative, experimental filmmaker and publisher, currently working between Paris and Amsterdam. His work, characterised by its intimate style, explores themes of modern masculinity, queer identity, and authentic human connection. After establishing a successful career in the South African fashion industry in the 2010s, Marais relocated to Europe and cultivated a more personal artistic voice. This distinct perspective has made him a sought-after collaborator for culturally relevant brands like Adidas, UGG, C&A, and Feeld, and his work has been recognised with the industry's highest accolades, including the Clio Awards and an iF DESIGN AWARD. He is also the founder and creative force behind the independent queer publication Heavy Feral.

Marias is represented by DILLER Global.

Marais grew up in a very 'normal' South African family, with his father in the mining industry and his mother mainly a housewife. His path to photography was serendipitous. During a family holiday when he was young, a woman who happened to be a newspaper editor asked him to take a photo of her and her son. Impressed by the result, she told his parents he needed to be a photographer. With their support, he pursued this path.

He studied photography at TUT University in Pretoria, graduating in 2004, and refined his skills by assisting well‑known local and international photographers. Marais has spoken openly about his early development, admitting he wasn’t very good at first and had no art training, so creativity was something he had to grow into. Persistence, he says, made the difference. By 2010 he was working professionally and quickly became a notable figure in South Africa’s fashion and creative scenes.

His work appeared regularly on the creative platform One Small Seed. He was also a founding member of The Gaschette Team, a collective linked to Gaschette Magazine, producing experimental editorials such as a spontaneous shoot during a rare Johannesburg snowfall with Rharha Nembhard and Petite Noir. His Gaschette work was often naively futuristic and highly stylised, showing a clear command of concept. In 2014 he and his Gaschette co‑founders won African Fashion International’s Trend Communicator of the Year award. That same year he joined Cape Town agency One League.

His international clients included Adidas, Nike, Lipton, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Marks & Spencer, Tally Weijl, Nivea, Muscle Milk, Country Road and Tena, establishing him as a creator of polished, dynamic commercial imagery. In 2019 Marais moved to Berlin, Germany, describing it as essential for his creative and personal growth. Stepping away from South Africa, he said, helped him recognise his own creative relevance. The move marked a major shift: distance from home enabled him to embrace his identity as a gay man, which became central to his work. His focus moved from stylised commercial imagery toward a rawer, more authentic visual language centred on queer togetherness, bodily freedom and human connection. He is now working mainly between Paris and Amsterdam and is represented by DILLER Global.

Marais’s current artistic philosophy, formed during the COVID‑19 pandemic, centres on the idea of choice. His statement reads: “I choose to illuminate the beauty of life by exposing human experiences that show their diversity and complexity. I choose to challenge the status quo by reflecting the realities that we as humans face.” He believes modern creatives must do more than make beautiful images. They MUST also stand for something.

His process is direct and instinctive. He shoots with a mix of high‑end digital cameras and what he calls “shit‑cams”, early digicams from the 2000s. He focuses on atmosphere and colour rather than retouching or Photoshop to preserve authenticity. He says his main gift is not photography itself but the ability to connect with people and create trust, allowing his subjects to appear unguarded.

Marais’s work bridges artistic integrity and commercial appeal. His strengths lie in connecting art and commerce, capturing quiet emotional moments, creating a safe and open space for subjects, and redefining modern masculinity with honesty and sensitivity.