DRYLANDS

Walking lies at the core of Isabelle Kettner’s work, a way to steady her restlessness, sharpen perception, and pursue freedom. This approach has led her to centre her practice as a black-and-white photographer on the everyday life of nomadic peoples, the terrains they call home, and the small moments that define them.

Travel is integral to her work. Venturing into remote areas within the Sahara and Sahel, she often sleeps under open skies alongside nomadic pastoralists, following their daily rhythms and challenges at a time when many of these communities are shifting towards a more settled way of life. Joining their world of continuous movement demands endurance and flexibility, teaching her to work with only the essentials. Using a Leica Monochrom and a 50 mm lens — closely mirroring the human eye — she maintains a disciplined perspective, remaining present but unobtrusive.

The minimalist beauty of the deserts where she has spent time with tribes such as the Bidhan, Haratin, Rebaiya, Bisharin, Jebeliya, and Al Alegat shapes her visual language. Stark contrasts of black and white echo the extremes of the landscape, hint at a fading way of life and reflecting the fragility of these communities. Kettner’s photographs are restrained and direct, moving beyond clichés of emptiness or romantic isolation revealing the desert as a living archive. Through her work, she invites viewers to witness an alternative way of living, one in which land and memory remain deeply intertwined, yet increasingly under threat.

Minimalist monochrome photography by Isabelle Kettner, featuring a solitary figure on a stone in a serene water landscape.
Black and white wide-angle photography of a vast desert landscape with rolling sand dunes, featuring a camel caravan and people walking in the distance under a bright sky.
High-key black and white portrait of a man in traditional desert dress and goggles, standing in a bright, white sand dune landscape with one arm outstretched, by Isabelle Kettner.
Intense black and white close-up profile of a man wearing a traditional headwrap (turban), looking down in a moment of reflection or prayer in the desert.
Cinematic black and white scene in a desert at dusk, showing a man leading a camel by a rope near a campfire and brushwood, captured by photographer Isabelle Kettner.
Ethereal black and white landscape of a desert campfire burning among dry brush with a silhouette of a camel in the foggy distance.
Still life monochrome photography of a pair of worn black dress shoes and socks resting on desert sand next to a heavy fabric bag.
Expansive high-key monochrome landscape showing rocky desert terrain transitioning into a vast, hazy valley with scattered desert trees.
Aerial black and white view of the village Moudjiera, showing dense traditional architecture bordered by vast sand dunes.
Close-up black and white portrait of a woman wearing a black niqab, with a blurred mountain landscape in the background.