Ingmar Björn Nolting (1995) lives and works as a freelance photographer in Leipzig, Germany.
With his restrained, stage-like images, he describes and explores the interwaeving between environment, politics, and social dynamics. A large part of his work deals with the transformation of his homeland, Germany—between division, rearmament, pandemics, and the climate crisis, his images strike a tone that captures the zeitgeist: soothing, poetically descriptive, yet pinpointed.
Ingmar is a founding member of DOCKS Collective for humanist photography. The group is united by the idea that collaboration can be a method for challenging and overcoming the classic egocentric perspective of documentary photography.
For FROM we have chosen three works from the series "The dream of the poets" from Somaliland. The motifs are carefully selected, with a sense of geometry, order, and space. The composition appears calm and peaceful.
The entire series, the three motifs on FROM, but also Ingmar's entire oeuvre tell complex stories – often focusing on collective identity and the effects of political upheaval. He avoids hysterical sensationalism and instead emphasizes a contemplative, somehow benevolent gaze. His restrained use of color gives his paintings a timeless, generous quality.
The Horn of Africa is considered one of the continent's most war-torn regions. Somalia, in particular, fell into an ever-deepening chaos of civil war and terror after the overthrow of Somali dictator Siad Barre in 1991. Still, there is no end in sight. Despite all the resistance, however, an island of peaceful coexistence emerged in the north of the country: Somaliland.
The Republic of Somaliland was founded on May 18, 1991. Although Somaliland's independence is not recognized under international law, it succeeded in building a functioning state from the ashes of protracted fighting. The state-building process in Somaliland developed without external influence–bottom up. After declaring independence, the residents called together the clan elders to make peace with one another. This peace agreement has resulted in a stable region with its own currency, its own military, and a democratically elected parliament. Nothing seems more important to the Somalilanders than their still-young peace.
Ingmar Björn Nolting's photo essay is a journey through this region, tracing and visually depicting the collective dream of an internationally recognized statehood. The project tells of a region where traditional tribal structures and male privilege are as much a part of the political system as parliamentary democracy and peaceful transfers of power.
