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

101 Remarkable South African Women by Lizette Rabe (with Nancy Richards)

Discover the untold stories of South African women who changed history. In this episode of Pagecast, Nancy Richards sits down with Professor Lizette Rabe to talk about her book, 101 Remarkable South African Women. From ancient trailblazers like the "Eve of the West Coast" to modern icons including Thuli Madonsela,…
23 Feb 28 min

The Condiment Book by Claire Dinhut

We have a bonus episode of Pagecast for you today featuring Claire Dinhut (Condiment Claire) and Karen Dudley. This is the perfect conversation ahead of the festive season as the two chat all about condiments, bold new flavours and secrets about how to elevate any dish. More about The Condiment…
15 Dec 2025 46 min

Skorpio deur Deon Meyer

Ons eindig ’n jaar van fassinerende boekpraatjies op Pagecast met ’n opwindende gesprek tussen Deon Meyer en Beer Adriaanse oor die topverkoper Skorpio. Bennie Griessel en Vaughn Cupido ontvang die blye tyding dat hulle uiteindelik weer bevorder is tot die rang van kaptein. Maar hul vreugde is van korte duur…
8 Dec 2025 31 min

The Dark Prince by Pieter du Toit

In this episode of Pagecast, Bongani Bingwa interviews Pieter du Toit about his latest book, The Dark Prince, an unflinching portrait of Paul Mashatile’s controversial rise through the ANC ranks to the doorstep of the presidency. About the book: Having survived scandal, controversy and the Zuma years, Paul Mashatile has…
1 Dec 2025 39 min