Gomma Photography Grant 2024
The Silent Killer
Photographer
Nathalie Bertrams
The Silent Killer
20 Jan, 2025
"Over a century of gold mining in Johannesburg has left behind a scarred landscape. Massive hills of mining waste tower over marginalised settlements in Soweto, casting a long shadow of environmental degradation and human suffering. Windblown dust from these mine dumps that carries a cocktail of heavy metals such as uranium, cyanide, arsenic, lead and mercury, is silently poisoning the environment and communities."
About the photographer
Nathalie Bertrams
"Nathalie Bertrams is a documentary photographer and National Geographic Explorer based in Brussels. She holds a Master’s degree from the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Her work explores the complex relationships between environmental conflicts, human rights, and the exploitation of resources, often within a global context. Bertrams' photography and journalistic pieces have been featured in international media outlets such as Süddeutsche Zeitung, Die Zeit, The Guardian, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, and El País. In addition to her written work, she produces television documentaries for Arte/ZDF. Her contributions have earned her numerous awards and grants, including those from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Stiftung Kunstfonds, and the Robert Bosch Foundation. Nathalie’s photographs and installations are showcased in various national and international festivals and exhibitions, including “Die Grosse” in Düsseldorf and the Ostrale Biennale in Dresden."
