Opening Friday, September 11, 2026, 7-9 pm
The artist will be present
Curated by Stefanie Regina Dietzel
For the first time, the Alfred Ehrhardt Foundation is presenting Alfred Ehrhardt’s (1901–1984) historical industrial photographs in a new light. Between 1954 and 1963, numerous film and photographic works were created on behalf of the tobacco company Reemtsma & Co., which have remained largely unnoticed until now—and stand in stark contrast to Ehrhardt’s free artistic nature and landscape photographs. These little-known works now form the basis for a new series by Leipzig artist Ramona Schacht (*1989), who takes an in-depth look at the working environments depicted in them. The focus is on scenes of work in tobacco fields and processing, which Ehrhardt documented in countries such as Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Turkey, the USA, and Greece. The photographs reflect a colonial understanding of the “foreign” and “exotic”—ideas whose aftermath Schacht critically questions in her work. The dialogue between historical archives and contemporary art practice gives rise to a multi-layered reflection on work, history, and cultural perception. Schacht’s portrayal of female labor in particular sheds new light on the subject and opens up unusual perspectives on realities that have been overlooked until now.