Nomads of our time. Finissage in Kiel

To avoid misunderstandings: The finissage of the exhibition “Nomads of our time. Migrant sheep farms in Schleswig-Holstein” November 6th, 2023 did not herald the early end of the tour that started in March of this year. Rather, the event merely marked the end of the well-attended presentation at the location of the project sponsor, the Sparkassenstiftung Schleswig-Holstein, in Kiel.

Oliver Stolz, President of the Savings Banks and Giro Association for Schleswig-Holstein and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Sparkassenstiftung, was able to win over the Minister of Agriculture, Werner Schwarz, for the event. In his welcoming speech, the minister emphasized the importance of transhumance for the ecological balance in the country's natural areas and his appreciation for the people who practice this challenging, difficult craft.

These statements particularly pleased those present from the transhumance sheep farms. Long after the speeches, she was seen in small groups talking to the Minister of Agriculture.

“An aesthetic monument to transhumance sheep”

In her introductory speech, the art historian and photography expert Dr. Dörte Beier about the creation of the report and the photographer's visual language, among other things:

Before Holger Rüdel takes a picture, he has a clear idea of ​​the finished image. He is a master of “visual overwhelm” and does not shy away from exaggerating large scenes compositionally and emotionally in appropriate situations, such as in particular the monumental picture by John Kimmel on the Danewerk, which has been a World Heritage Site since 2018. The particularly strong bottom view chosen here forces the viewer to look up at the person depicted and gives the scene a strong dramaturgical effect, which is further enhanced atmospherically by the breakthrough of the sun. In many other portrait shots, the photographer also chooses a camera position below eye level in order to direct the viewer's gaze from bottom to top: his way of paying respect to the people depicted.

Holger Rüdel has excellent technical knowledge and an unerring aesthetic sense for the artistic use of light and shadow, sharpness and blur, and composition. But above all about an empathy for the people and animals he photographs. With his unmistakable visual language, he succeeded in creating an aesthetic monument to the remaining transhumance sheep farms in Schleswig-Holstein.

The exhibition “Nomads of our time. Migrant sheep farms in Schleswig-Holstein” moves from Kiel to Rendsburg. She will be there from November 19, 2023 to January 28, 2024 Museums in the cultural center to see.

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All images in the exhibition are available as high-quality prints in many versions - for example on fine Hahnemühle papers, aluminum dibond, canvas or behind acrylic glass. Further information and ordering options are available here FineArt Shop des Authors.