TUE 10 NOV
18:00 MISS READ SPACE
Vernissage & Artist Interview
Further opening hours
WED 11+THO 12 NOV, 18.00–20.00 |
FRI 13+SA 14 NOV, 16.00–22.00 |
SUN 15 NOV, 16.00–20.00
Nyaba L. Ouedraogo's photographic work examines the sacred as a living space characterized by cultural, ecological and spiritual tensions. In the series THE SACRED: HUMAN, ANIMAL AND PLANT, he explores how humans, animals and plants live together in habitats where traditional practices remain closely linked to the present. The sacred crocodile pond of Bazoulé becomes the starting point for questioning the fragile balance between cultural heritage and ecological change.
Organic shapes, textures reminiscent of skin or earth, and movements that originate from the imaginary are not mere aesthetic choices. They reveal a multi-layered relationship to a place where cultural rituals, spiritual beliefs, and natural ecosystems continue to support each other. The sacred crocodile, a traditional protective figure, becomes a symbolic yardstick for the health of nature. It reminds us that the sacred can only continue to exist if the environment it carries remains intact.
In Burkina Faso, sacred ponds are among the last functioning traditional ecosystems. Climatic changes such as falling water levels and the loss of habitats threaten not only the crocodile populations, but also the symbolic structures that hold communities together. The sacred thus becomes a space in which questions of nature conservation intersect with questions of identity. To preserve the pond means to protect both an ecosystem and a world of meanings. This shows a paradox of the Anthropocene: Traditional knowledge that has long protected the environment must today face disturbances that are far beyond local influence.
In a world in which human action changes natural cycles, the crocodile stands for vulnerability. Its survival depends on water quality, soil stability and resource availability, conditions that climate change is increasingly undermining.
The people in the pictures embody community, continuity and ecological responsibility. Their relationship with crocodiles and the plant world expresses a worldview in which man is not outside nature. The plants point to the frillity of growth cycles and the need for respectful treatment of the environment. Finally, the crocodile, through its presence alone, makes visible how far the ecological destruction has progressed.
Ouedraogo not only documents rituals or landscapes. The gestures he holds become acts of silent resistance. They suggest that the Holy opens up other forms of dealing with the living, forms based on responsibility, reciprocity, and continuity.
With THE SACRED: HUMAN, ANIMAL AND PLANT, he invites us to view traditional ecosystems not as nostalgic remnants, but as the basis for new species to inhabit the earth. His photography becomes a space of critical reflection on our role in the living world and on the urgent need for a responsible use of it, which is equal to the challenges of our time.
