Born in Tel Aviv and brought up in Johannesburg, photographer Nadav Kander moved to London in 1986, where he established a studio. Known for his portraiture and landscapes, Kander has published seven books and won a number of awards, including the Prix Pictet 2009 and an honorary fellowship from the Royal Photographic Society. He is the winner of this year’s outstanding contribution to photography prize at the Sony world photography awards. His work will be on show at Somerset House from 18 April.
1. Podcast
The Moth
I listen to this [storytelling] podcast a lot – either on my cycle trainer or if I’m cooking on my own, which I love to do. You hear people deliver their own tales, their own stories – there is such vulnerability, and bravery, and so many human conditions come to the fore. It’s the simplest idea, and so wonderful. The ones I enjoy the most are the unknown people who have had something very moving happen to them in their lives. Often it is revealed right at the end that the storyteller is one of the protagonists, but often not the one you thought.
2. Book
This is a book I recently read. I take a long time to read books – I read slowly, but this is a book I couldn’t put down. It’s lightly based on the premise of Hamlet, but the main extraordinary thing is that it’s narrated by an unborn foetus – who is really smart beyond his years – realising that his mother is having an affair with his father’s brother. When you tell it like that you really see the Shakespearean context of Hamlet, but it’s set today, in London. I thought it was brilliantly clever.
3. Theatre
The Hunt, Almeida theatre
I’m very much looking forward to this. I think that Rupert Goold is a brilliant director, and the film it’s based on was incredible. It’s a 2012 Danish drama [directed by Thomas Vinterberg] that did incredibly well at Cannes, about a schoolteacher who is made redundant after being wrongly accused of sexually abusing children in kindergarten class. And it’s so aptly named – the title is ambiguous and chilling. I think it’s going to be a pretty amazing play. Tobias Menzies is playing the lead, and I love the Almeida – it’s so consistent and rigorous.
4. Art
Dorothea Tanning, Tate Modern
I saw this a few days ago and I thought it was terrific. I either love or dislike her work – which is always a good thing with me – but I really do like a lot of what she does. It’s incredibly varied and meticulously made. As Tanning got older, her work got less explicit, more suggestive, which I think is perfect for ageing. The picture that really blew me away was Self-Portrait (1944): it’s a woman in a bathing costume, seen from behind, standing all on her own with a vast landscape ahead of her. It’s beautiful.
5. Film
I adored Cold War. The way it was filmed – people turned around at the Curzon when I was there, because I kept groaning at the compositions. I loved how subtly it didn’t point a finger at communism or the west, just moved between the two. It’s a tragic film, but shrouded in beauty: I thought that was so powerful. As with photography – you can photograph things that are quite difficult to look at, but very beautifully. So you have something happening underneath what you’re looking at. It’s those opposites that signal true life.
6. Music
Nivhek
Nivhek is actually Liz Harris, who also plays under the name of Grouper. She lives in Portland, and she’s barking. Her latest album as Nivhek is called After its own death / Walking in a spiral towards the house. When I print my own work early in the morning in the studio, around four or five o’clock, I often listen to her. The music is very meditative, contemplative; often it feels like Gregorian chant. It feels like deep, slow, dark water – I printed my Estuary works listening to her. I just find it perfect for when I’m alone and within my own atmosphere. It’s almost religious for me.
