Helga Kohl

Helga Kohl is a photographer born in Poland and based in Namibia whose work explores abandoned diamond mine towns in Namibia. Her main series of buildings in Kolmanskop show how the Namib desert's sands have reclaimed abandoned buildings. She is a member of the Professional Photographers in Southern Africa (PPSA) and her works have been exhibited and collected internationally, though especially prominent in Namibia.

Early life

Helga Kohl was born in 1943 in Silesia, Poland. She emigrated to West Germany in 1958, where she studied photography and received a degree from the Münster Chamber of Trade. In 1970, Kohl moved to Namibia, where she has worked as a freelance photographer since 1975.