Background information
"Beatrice MINDA's photographic work focuses on private interiors in the context of historical events. In Myanmar in the Far East, which was sealed off for decades by a rigid military dictatorship, she photographed the oldest houses still inhabited today, which date back to colonial-influenced lifestyles at the beginning of the 20th century. She traced the life traces of the inhabitants and the signs of change. In the course of colonization, many settlers, traders, hired laborers and has-beens came to the country from the vast British Empire. Wealthy locals also ventured into newly developed regions, establishing rice paddies and rubber plantations or entering the teak trade. Colonial exploitation stimulated investment and also brought progress and isolated wealth, as evidenced by the houses still standing and objects from a vanished world that have often been untouched for decades. But there are also large gaps between then and now. An eerie emptiness animates these spaces. Dark whispers echo through them - a memento mori that reminds us of the many unspoken things in Burmese history.
Content
The photo volume 'Dark Whispers' by Beatrice MINDA reflects the ambivalent aspects of the British colonial period and its consequences. Numerous historical images, explanatory legends, and a perceptive text by Burmese poet Ko Ko Thett complement Beatrice MINDA's photographs, which focus on the atmospheres of bygone life and the forms of representation in which the inhabitants once sought to realize themselves." (© Hartmann Projects, 2021)
Additional information
Linen bound hardcover with English / German text, 50 new photographs and 42 historian photos, the text is by Ko Ko Thett and the book design by Hannah FELDMEIER, Leipzig.