Access to clean water was recognized as a global human right by the United Nations in 2010. The problem of water availability and distribution hits underprivileged population groups particularly hard: over 160 million Indians currently have no access to clean water. The reality of life for women and girls, who are responsible for procuring water within family structures, often means walking for hours to fetch water from distant wells. Mostly in gallons made of aluminum, transported on the head.

The work of Anja Bohnhof takes a look at the reality of life of these women and girls and also addresses globally relevant issues. Through a staged and surreal representation, attention is drawn to a fundamental problem of our times. The photographs were taken in villages of the indigenous ethnic group of the Santal in the north of West Bengal. The problems of drinking water shortage are widely known there. Especially towards the end of the dry season, difficulties due to water scarcity become a daily reality.

Anja Bohnhof. Born in 1974 in Hagen. Lives and works in Dortmund and Klagenfurt. She studied photography at the Bauhaus University in Weimar and was a lecturer for photography and editorial practice at the University of Applied Sciences in Cologne. Her work has been exhibited and published internationally and has received numerous grants and funding awards. In 2015, she received the Gisela Bonn Award from the Indian Cultural Council New Delhi for her work on India. Her works are represented by Galerie m, Bochum.

bohnhofphoto.de

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