Anja Bohnhof

The ongoing photographic long-term project »Zilt & Zout« explores the connections between nature, culture, and the history of the Netherlands. Each image invites viewers to decipher the symbolic meaning and take a fresh look at Dutch history. The portrayed woman functions as a timeless narrator, whose interactions with the sea, beach, and dunes reveal deeper connections to Dutch identity and societal change.

The ongoing photographic long-term project »Zilt & Zout« explores the connections between nature, culture, and the history of the Netherlands. Each image invites viewers to decipher the symbolic meaning and take a fresh look at Dutch history. The portrayed woman functions as a timeless narrator, whose interactions with the sea, beach, and dunes reveal deeper connections to Dutch identity and societal change.

»Nickname Amby« explores the history and symbolic significance of the Hindustan Ambassador as a reflection of India’s social, political, and environmental transformations. Since its production began in 1948 in Uttarpara near Kolkata, the Ambassador was present for decades – as a government car, family vehicle, and yellow taxi – shaping the cityscape, soundscape, and everyday life of Kolkata. In my work, it is made tangible through a recreated model Amby, photographs of the last surviving taxis, and staged interventions in public space – documenting the changes in daily life and urban experience.

»Nickname Amby« explores the history and symbolic significance of the Hindustan Ambassador as a reflection of India’s social, political, and environmental transformations. Since its production began in 1948 in Uttarpara near Kolkata, the Ambassador was present for decades – as a government car, family vehicle, and yellow taxi – shaping the cityscape, soundscape, and everyday life of Kolkata. In my work, it is made tangible through a recreated model Amby, photographs of the last surviving taxis, and staged interventions in public space – documenting the changes in daily life and urban experience.

»Nickname Amby« explores the history and symbolic significance of the Hindustan Ambassador as a reflection of India’s social, political, and environmental transformations. Since its production began in 1948 in Uttarpara near Kolkata, the Ambassador was present for decades – as a government car, family vehicle, and yellow taxi – shaping the cityscape, soundscape, and everyday life of Kolkata. In my work, it is made tangible through a recreated model Amby, photographs of the last surviving taxis, and staged interventions in public space – documenting the changes in daily life and urban experience.

»Nickname Amby« explores the history and symbolic significance of the Hindustan Ambassador as a reflection of India’s social, political, and environmental transformations. Since its production began in 1948 in Uttarpara near Kolkata, the Ambassador was present for decades – as a government car, family vehicle, and yellow taxi – shaping the cityscape, soundscape, and everyday life of Kolkata. In my work, it is made tangible through a recreated model Amby, photographs of the last surviving taxis, and staged interventions in public space – documenting the changes in daily life and urban experience.

»Nickname Amby« explores the history and symbolic significance of the Hindustan Ambassador as a reflection of India’s social, political, and environmental transformations. Since its production began in 1948 in Uttarpara near Kolkata, the Ambassador was present for decades – as a government car, family vehicle, and yellow taxi – shaping the cityscape, soundscape, and everyday life of Kolkata. In my work, it is made tangible through a recreated model Amby, photographs of the last surviving taxis, and staged interventions in public space – documenting the changes in daily life and urban experience.

In 1960s Yugoslavia, artists had notable room for creative exploration, a period now seen as an independent expression of modernity. Among others, the Serbian artists Milan Popović and Aleksandar Lučović Lukijan created surreal and metaphorical works. Today, a government strongly oriented toward nationalism challenges freedom of expression, while nationally oriented and religiously connoted art is promoted. »The Other Side Of Reality« engages with this context through the re-staging of selected works by Popović and Lučović Lukijan, the focus of the project.

In 1960s Yugoslavia, artists had notable room for creative exploration, a period now seen as an independent expression of modernity. Among others, the Serbian artists Milan Popović and Aleksandar Lučović Lukijan created surreal and metaphorical works. Today, a government strongly oriented toward nationalism challenges freedom of expression, while nationally oriented and religiously connoted art is promoted. »The Other Side Of Reality« engages with this context through the re-staging of selected works by Popović and Lučović Lukijan, the focus of the project.

The locally known Pavement Typists outside the High Court in Kolkata, India, have long spent their working days on the sidewalks before the courthouse. Today, their profession is nearing its end. Most Typists are already of retirement age, and their typewriters—often American-made Remington models—have served them for decades. These machines, like the worn worktables on which they rest, carry lived histories and countless written stories. Their modest income is earned under precarious conditions outdoors, in all weather—from monsoon rains to extreme heat. For some, it remains the primary source of family income. Their clients are mainly lawyers at the Kolkata High Court, who require handwritten notes to be transcribed into the English still used in court. These working relationships often span many years. Before the digital shift reduced demand for analogue skills, up to sixty Typists worked outside the court; today, around twenty remain. The Tables series presents their worktables, typewriters, tools, and personal belongings, photographed in a rented room near the High Court in consultation with their owners.

The locally known Pavement Typists outside the High Court in Kolkata, India, have long spent their working days on the sidewalks before the courthouse. Today, their profession is nearing its end. Most Typists are already of retirement age, and their typewriters—often American-made Remington models—have served them for decades. These machines, like the worn worktables on which they rest, carry lived histories and countless written stories. Their modest income is earned under precarious conditions outdoors, in all weather—from monsoon rains to extreme heat. For some, it remains the primary source of family income. Their clients are mainly lawyers at the Kolkata High Court, who require handwritten notes to be transcribed into the English still used in court. These working relationships often span many years. Before the digital shift reduced demand for analogue skills, up to sixty Typists worked outside the court; today, around twenty remain. The Tables series presents their worktables, typewriters, tools, and personal belongings, photographed in a rented room near the High Court in consultation with their owners.

On a table in a studio at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, two objects from the 1960s encounter one another: a yellow Remington typewriter and an orange architect’s lamp. The lamp moves with an almost animate quality around the typewriter, as though accompanying it in its search for inspiration. The setting is deliberately chosen. The table, part of the studios’ original furnishings, evokes creativity and artistic heritage. The series wittily engages with analogue communication, both aesthetically and functionally recalling a bygone era. Analogue presents this meeting as a nostalgic dialogue between objects, inviting reflection on the relationship between human, machine, space, and time.

Access to clean water was recognised by the United Nations as a universal human right in 2010. Despite the International Decade for Action “Water – Source of Life” (2005–2015), increasing water scarcity remains a global challenge. Its causes include structural and culturally shaped approaches to water, ongoing privatisation, and the impacts of climate change, with socially and economically disadvantaged groups most affected. In many villages in India, functioning wells or reliable water systems are lacking, and access to clean drinking water is often insecure. The health consequences are particularly severe for young children. Women and girls, who commonly take responsibility for water collection, often walk long distances to distant wells, carrying water in containers—labour that can also limit girls’ access to education. The work focuses on these lived realities and broader global issues. In staged, surreal images, women carry water containers upside down on their heads, obscuring their faces, drawing attention to a fundamental problem. The photographs were taken in twelve villages of the Santal (Adivasi) community in northern West Bengal, where water scarcity becomes especially acute at the end of the dry season.

Access to clean water was recognised by the United Nations as a universal human right in 2010. Despite the International Decade for Action “Water – Source of Life” (2005–2015), increasing water scarcity remains a global challenge. Its causes include structural and culturally shaped approaches to water, ongoing privatisation, and the impacts of climate change, with socially and economically disadvantaged groups most affected. In many villages in India, functioning wells or reliable water systems are lacking, and access to clean drinking water is often insecure. The health consequences are particularly severe for young children. Women and girls, who commonly take responsibility for water collection, often walk long distances to distant wells, carrying water in containers—labour that can also limit girls’ access to education. The work focuses on these lived realities and broader global issues. In staged, surreal images, women carry water containers upside down on their heads, obscuring their faces, drawing attention to a fundamental problem. The photographs were taken in twelve villages of the Santal (Adivasi) community in northern West Bengal, where water scarcity becomes especially acute at the end of the dry season.