The Great Silence

For five days, photographer Xiomara Bender travelled through the Moroccan desert of M’Hamid – her followers were nine dromedaries, six Bedouin men and a dog, while her only carry-on luggage were two Leica SL and three objectives. Her mission: to join filmmaker Sönke Wortmann, happiness researcher Richard Kong and futurologist Prof. Dr Thomas Druyen as they wandered through the ever-expanding dunes of sublime beauty on an experiment to experience the desert while remaining in total silence with one another. In her series The Great Silence Xiomara Bender shares her story by using her very own and distinct vocabulary. Her pictures take you on a journey through the desert, in all its striking colours and speak for the experiences and impressions gained by its members that certainly took them to the extreme.

“I always try to find this one picture which says it all. One that is able to capture the entire story. Photography is a language that is over 200 years old and one must be able to listen and be alert in order to understand. The people and landscapes in my pictures are ambassadors as well as the surface of my projection. As a tool I use empathy, a silent language of asking for permission, to fully capture the array of emotions of the portrayed. In how far the picture is able to translate the emotional experience of the moment, is my indicator to determine the success of my shot.

Three remarkable characters in their ultimate attempt to abandon language as their most important means of social interaction. I wonder, how can I capture and translate what their flickering eyes, their gestures and body posture reveal in just a blink of a moment? How can I catch this process of communication, if there are no words that can help us understand?

The Great Silence was beyond what I could have ever expected. It was a unique experience that lingers until this day. A singular project without a screenplay: unscripted reality, directed by an uncompromising, almost surreal and vast landscape, whose fascination lies in its merciless nature that always demands the maximum. A journey through the desert as a journey into our very own soul and existence.

It is an exceptional challenge to photograph the desert. What we might view as a breathtaking beauty, might not be reflected as such in our photograph. To bridge this gap is what inspires me along my way.“

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