Vernissage White Lady–Black Lady: Photographs of Anneliese and Ernst Rudolf Scherz taken during the expeditions with Abbé Henri Breuil and Mary Boyle in then South West Africa (1947–1950).
Exhibition with photographs of Anneliese and Ernst Rudolf Scherz taken during the expeditions with Abbé Henri Breuil and Mary Boyle in Namibia, 1947–1950. The Exhibition named 'Vernissage White Lady–Black Lady' is presented in German language.
The so-called "White Lady" in a cave in the Brandberg (Daureb) in western Namibia is regarded as one of the most emblematic figures of the rich rock art landscape in southern Africa. The expeditions of the archaeologist Abbé Henri Breuil and his collaborator Mary Boyle between 1947 and 1950 made the figure internationally famous. The archives of the expedition photographers Anneliese Scherz and Ernst Rudolf Scherz provide unusual insights into a period when the "White Lady" and many other rock paintings were discovered scientifically and rendered visible by means of the camera. The photographs on display reflect the challenges of everyday research life, document techniques, suggest controversy with regard to the interpretation of rock art and confront visitors with the colonial frameworks of expeditions and photography. The black-and-white-photographs capture the excitement amongst the researchers about landscape, rock art and research life. The search for "closeness" with the rock art resulted in surprising re-enactments and visual reverberations. As such also the so-called "Black Lady" was produced, an artistic portrait of Mary Boyle as photographed by Anneliese Scherz, a pronounced visual echo of the "White Lady." Most of the photographs have not been on public display so far. They originate from the archives of Anneliese and Ernst Rudolf Scherz in the Basler Afrika Bibliographien where they are shown in an exhibition which moves critically beyond the archives. The exhibition results from a collaborative project with the photographer Sonja Maria Schobinger and a student working group from the Department of History at the University of Basel. The exhibition is held in German.
Date: 22.06-22.07.2016
Opening time: Tuesdays to Fridays, 2pm-6pm; Saturdays, 11am-4pm
Location:
Basler Afrika Bibliographien (BAB)
Klosterberg 23
CH-4051 Basel
Schweiz
Information:
- www.baslerafrika.ch
- www.facebook.com/baslerafrika
