Nicola Brandt

Nicola Brandt,The Fence, 2013

Broken fence and water tower in the region of the unidentified graves of Herero prisoners-of-war. Swakopmund, Namibia.

Nicola Brandt, No longer innocent landscapes, 2017

Remnants of Berghof. This is the site of Hitler’s residence and one of his headquarters in the Obersalzberg of the Bavarian Alps near Berchtesgaden, Bavaria, Germany.
Hitler spent more time at the Berghof than anywhere else during World War II.

Nicola Brandt, Defined from Without, 2018.
Porcelain sculpture (Villeroy & Boch, 1748), painting and books. Various dimensions

Nicola Brandt, North-South / East-West, 2018.
Photographer: Alexander von Hirschfeld (?) Original images: Glass negatives.
Collection: Alexander von Hirschfeld. Giclée, Hahnemühle Photo Rag, 17 x 12 cm (each)

Camels are not indigenous to Southern Africa, but were brought from Egypt and Tunisia to what was then German South West Africa (Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika), by the German colonial powers. A special force known as the ‘camel troops’ were used in the war against the Herero and Nama. The camels had a practical function—they could assist the colonial forces in controlling vast expanses of desert and semi-desert areas, especially as horses could not survive the distances between the water holes. At the same time, countless animals died in this extreme and cruel process of transport and in their new habitat. These photographs remind the viewer of the problem of romanticizing these animals in art and culture, which is often associated with classical Orientalism. Instead, they demonstrate some of the brutal facts of colonial warfare – the violence and power exerted by the German colonial ruler, and the deep, underlying psychological contradictions that came with it.

Nicola Brandt, Mother says her memory is fading, 2018 [Installation]

Nicola Brandt, ‘Der Krieg ist verloren’ / A History of Marginalia, 2018.
Mixed media installation, various sizes

This work speaks to European modernity’s obsession with creating lists, to name, quantify and rationalise human experience.
In this form of ‘knowledge creation’, the psychology of power, play and detachment often sit uncomfortably together.

Isabel Tueumuna Katjavivi, The Melting Passage of the Self, 2014.
Motion image made of 1203 still images, 2:40min, continuous loop

Indifference, 2015 [Still].
HD Triptych video installation, 14 minutes 09 seconds. Continuous loop