ABOUT
ULLA KIMMIG

The sight of these wild horses, their intelligence and grace, their expressive communication with each other and with humans, prompts Ulla Kimmig to reflect on the history of horses and people. How aware are people that it was horses that led civilization into the modern age? That it was horses that willingly relinquished a considerable portion of their freedom to stand by humankind in war, mining, and agriculture? In that moment, under the scorching sun of the California desert, Ulla Kimmig feels: The remarkable services horses have provided to humankind since their domestication should never be forgotten. They should be reawakened in our collective consciousness. The idea for Wild Mustang – The Horse Gallery is born.

The photojournalist now wants to experience for herself a dignified and honest communication on equal terms between humans and horses. For witnessing firsthand how this magnificent animal turns to humans and places its trust in them has always been a major part of the fascination with horses.

Ulla Kimmig spots a brown Mustang amidst a captured herd. With his comparatively long legs and athletic build, "Sugar Man," as she will later name him, evokes memories for the photographer of her time in horse racing in Baden-Baden. His curiosity outweighs his fear, and he approaches Ulla Kimmig a little. A good sign for his later willingness to bond with the rider and become a team.

In the desert town of Norco, also known as the horse town, Sugar Man is domesticated and broken in with the help of a cowboy and a trainer. Several months pass, and Ulla Kimmig keeps a close eye on her new four-legged companion. The adoption program stipulates that Ulla Kimmig will only become Sugar Man's legal owner a year after the adoption, meaning she cannot leave the US before then. But things don't go as planned. Interpersonal conflicts with the cowboy force the photographer to leave one morning with her belongings, her dog Pippo, and her Mustang, Sugar Man. It is the first and perhaps most defining moment in the relationship between Ulla Kimmig and her Mustang. On one of Norco's many urban horse trails, the pair sets off early one January morning for a new stable. Oversized trucks thunder past, and the experienced horsewoman's nerves are frayed. It's the first time she's accompanied him outside the familiar corral where Sugar Man was tamed. But he chooses to follow Ulla Kimmig.

After nearly two hours of walking, they are safely in the new stable. From there, the photographer prepares the mustang's transport to Germany, where he will move into his new stable in Hamburg. Now it is Ulla Kimmig's task to familiarize the once wild mustang with the domesticated horse world of Germany. The daily challenges facing the "invisible bond"—the relationship, so to speak, between Sugar Man and "his human," Ulla Kimmig—are numerous. Regarding her journey with the brown horse, she says, "I was familiar with working with horses. But with Sugar Man, I had to be more perceptive than ever before, figuring out what he offered and was capable of, and where the trust still needed to grow. You can't let down a bond with a mustang." Through her work with Sugar Man, the photojournalist's interest in "reinventing herself" and combining her love of documentary photography with in-depth research on the topic of "the horse in the service of humankind" has grown. Now the idea has taken shape. Human history as a horse story comes to life in Wild Mustang – The Horse Gallery, the former mobile gallery of Ulla Kimmig. The photographs are now on display at their new location in Normandy, in the Calvados region. ©Photos Marcelo Hernandez