The Distance Within by Nicola Brandt

Loading player...
This episode of Pagecast is brought to you in collaboration with the ARTdacity podcast, just in time for the Investec Art Fair later this month. This week, Jo-Ann Strauss interviews Nicola Brandt about her book, The Distance Within, which features photographs and video stills made over more than a decade.

The Distance Within reflects on Nicola Brandt’s German and Namibian inheritance and deconstructs certain established ways of seeing Namibia. Brandt traveled the country extensively, documenting landscapes and people, structures and encounters, to reveal ensnared histories of German colonialism, National Socialism and apartheid. Markers of these histories range from the ephemeral and private, such as a dilapidated mound of stones as a roadside memorial, to official sites of remembrance and resistance, particularly for colonial atrocities. Alongside her images, Brandt assembles texts by thought leaders in photography, postcolonial cultures, memory and genocide studies, as well as material from private and public archives, to understand enduring blind spots. The result is an intersectional argument in favor of reclaiming suppressed indigenous stories and identities, undoing romantic notions of whiteness, and, ultimately, illuminating what has not been visible.

You can find ARTdacity here: https://www.artdacity.co.za/
#Pagecast #capetownartist #artbookrecommendations
9 Feb English South Africa Books · Society & Culture

Other recent episodes

Pagecast at Kingsmead Book Fair: Nozipho Tshabalala

Pagecast recorded live at the Kingsmead Book Fair, where Nozipho Tshabalala sat down with Mpumi Mgidlana from Jonathan Ball Publishers to talk about her memoir, After the Fires: Unlocking the Power of Letting Go. In this episode, Nozipho reflects on the question at the heart of her book: when the…
8 Jun 16 min

Pagecast at the Kingsmead Book Fair: Sally Andrew

Pagecast recorded live at the Kingsmead Book Fair, where Sally Andrew sat down with Faye Knight from Jonathan Ball Publishers to talk about the latest instalment in her beloved Tannie Maria mystery series, Wild Things Never Die. In this episode, Sally shares what keeps drawing her back to Tannie Maria…
5 Jun 11 min

Pagecast at Kingsmead Book Fair: Caitlin Venniker

Pagecast recorded live at the Kingsmead Book Fair, where Caitlin Venniker sat down with Kelly Mawa from Jonathan Ball Publishers to talk about her debut book, Unleashed. In this episode, Caitlin shares the stories and experiences behind the book -- a candid look at life as a South African vet…
4 Jun 6 min

Pagecast at Kingsmead Book Fair: Karabo Poppy

Pagecast recorded live at the Kingsmead Book Fair, where Karabo Poppy sat down with Gontse Mosiane from Jonathan Ball Publishers to talk about her latest book, Hugged by The Night. In this episode, Karabo shares the vision and inspiration behind the work -- a celebration of the African aesthetic told…
3 Jun 12 min

Pagecast at Kingsmead Book Fair: David Mann

Pagecast recorded live at the Kingsmead Book Fair, where David Mann sat down with Maryam Adams from Jonathan Ball Publishers to discuss his debut short fiction collection, Once Removed. In this episode, David reflects on the stories behind the collection -- a sharply observed body of work that has already…
2 Jun 13 min