Dunja Herzog

In this first episode of art_biites, I'm speaking with Dunja Herzog. Her unique background connects her deeply to South Africa, Cameroon, and Nigeria a link that traces back to her childhood, when she lived in Cameroon for two years as her parents worked in a local hospital. Since then, she has been going back and forth.  

In this candid conversation, the artist reflects on the complexities of working in the Global South as someone from a privileged background. We discuss the value art creates, how it can address the inequalities and the awareness it brings to the world.

Dunja Herzog’s personal history is intertwined with larger, global stories: her family owned Oris Watches, and its connection extends to the United Trading Company (UTC), which originated from the Mission Basel, weaving her story into the broader narrative of colonialism and its aftermath. Today, we dive into these rich themes, coinciding with her first large institutional exhibition at the Art Museum in Solothurn, Switzerland.

Here are some of the topics discussed in the show:

Oris Watches

UTC United Trading Company

Susanne Wenger

Phillida Barlow

Maurice Merlauu-Ponty : Phenomenology

Achille Mbembe

Goddey Leye : The Art Bakery

Gregorious Agricola, 1556 : De Res Metallica

Johannes Praetorious, 1668 : Darstellung des Blocksbergs, in Hexenglauben und Hexenverfolgung in Hessen.