Hermann Wiele (1860–1924), a photographer, hunter, and writer, lived in Madras and Bangalore for over thirty years.
As a photographer, hunter, and writer, Hermann Wiele (1860–1924) lived and worked for over thirty years in the southern Indian cities of Madras and Bangalore (now Chennai and Bengaluru) and traveled throughout the Indian subcontinent. The photography studios “Wiele & Klein” and “Wiele’s Studio” were among the most influential players in the early history of photography in India. Their images of Indian and colonial architecture, landscapes, and foreign cultures circulated around the world as postcards in the early 20th century and shaped the image of the British colony.
Due to World War I, Hermann Wiele was forced to leave India. He spent the last years of his life in Hagenow. There he wrote down his memoirs of his hunting adventures, which were published after his death under titles such as “For Hagenbeck in the Himalayas and the Jungles of India” or “Secrets of the Jungles” and enjoyed great popularity.
The exhibition traces the journey of a photographer from the Harz Mountains through a British colony to a small town in Mecklenburg—but the focus is on a European’s perspective on colonial India some 100 years ago.
The exhibition opens on Sunday, September 13, 2026, at 3:00 p.m.
Admission to the opening is free.