ALL BABIES IN THE WORLD ARE GOLDEN

(2017)
FORCED MIGRATIONS I
(2018)
FORCED MIGRATIONS II
(2018)
 CADAVRES
immangeables
relics in dia frames, 2018

dead bodies of motherfishes and their babies, found at a fishmarket in Menton, France,
exhibited as a projection in dia frames.
CADAVRES IMMANGEABLES
(2017)
CADAVRES IMMANGEABLES
(2017)
CADAVRES IMMANGEABLES
(2017)
CADAVRES IMMANGEABLES
(2017)
CADAVRES IMMANGEABLES
(2017)
CADAVRES IMMANGEABLES
(2017)
CADAVRES IMMANGEABLES
(2017)
 sea is history,
the unity is submarine

What Glissant calls the „Poetics of Relation“ (Poétique de la Relation) stands for a human identity that is defined by
What Glissant calls the „Poetics of Relation“ (Poétique de la Relation) stands for a human identity that is defined by
the diversity of relationships rather than by ethnic descent. In this context, he distinguishes between „globalization“
(French mondialisation) and „globality“ (French mondialité): „What is called globalization is the lowest level of align-
ment, the rule of multinational corporations, standardization and unregulated liberalism the markets of the world. But
for me, it is just the flip side of a wonderful reality that I call globality. „Globality and globalization are two sides of the
same phenomenon. With „globalization“ Glissant means the capitalist project of the multinational corporations and
related cultural leveling (standardization). Globality, on the other hand, has productive potential through creative
interactions between cultures. This creates complex cultures („cultures composites“).

In the epigraph of Poetics of Relation (1991), Edouard Glissant cites two contemporary Caribbean poets: “Sea is His-
tory. Derek Walcott” and “The unity is submarine. Edward Kamau Brathwaite.” Both quotations are apt not only for
this text but for Glissant’s work overall, because the three writers are concerned with excavating existing cultural and
historical links between the Caribbean islands and generating new ones.
 sea is history,
the unity is submarine
Videowork, 5‘, 2017
THE UNITY IS SUBMARINE
(2017)
THE UNITY IS SUBMARINE
(2017)
Where are your monuments,
your battles, martyrs?
Where is your tribal memory?
Sirs,in that grey vault. The sea.
The sea has locked them up.
The sea is history.

Derek Walcott
The Sea is History” (1979)
ONE SEA TRAP
(2017)
ONE SEA TRAP
C-Print, 210x170cm, Genova, 2017
L‘ETRANGER SUR LA MER
(2017)
THREE STRANGE FEARS
Color photographs on the Côte d‘Azur and Italian Riviera around 1980,
Caricatures with gold pin, Menton and Ventimiglia, 2017.

1. Meteoric stones from Africa

2. L‘étranger sur la mer
3. Three imaginary boys
THREE IMAGINARY BOYS
(2017)
METEORIC STONES FROM AFRICA
(2017)
 PASSENGERS
Letters on wood, 2017

“ Two passengers in a railway compartment: We know nothing about their history, their origin or their
destination. They have made themselves a home, tables, clothes hooks, luggage racks taken. On the
free seats are newspapers, coats, handbags around. The door opens and two new travellers enter. Their
arrival is not welcome. A clear reluctance is noticeable as they move back together, clear the vacant
spaces, share the storage space above the seats. The original passengers, even if they do not know
each other, behave strangely in solidarity. They appear as a group opposing to the newcomers. It is
their territory that is up for grabs. Any newcomer is considered as an intruder. Their self-image is that
of natives who occupy the entire space for themselves. This conception can not be reasoned rationally.
The deeper it seems to be rooted. ”

free after Hans Magnus Enzensberger

Asked about their life situation in dialogue with the local population in South Tyrol many refugees tell
they had to face most prejudices and cases of everyday racism while travelling with the regional railway
between Malles and Brennero.
PASSENGERS
(2017)
„There is one thing I love about the mountains
that surround me here...
that I do not have to see the Sea.
I will not forget,
but I do never want to see the Sea in my life again.“

JOSHUA R.
resident of Casa Ruben Refugee Camp
Christopher Columbus left for the New World,
and I am like one to return from it. Being on that (his) boat,
it‘s not revenge. What would be the stupidest thing to say, but
it‘s amusing to know that my ancestors made the voyage in
terrible conditions unlike these.
Every diaspora is the passage from unity to multiplicity.
This is important in all the movements of the World.
Let‘s not forget that Africa was the source of all sorts of diaspo-
ra .There was the diaspora millions of years ago that gave birth
to humanity, because Africa is the source of humankind.
And other diasporas, for example the diaspora imposed by sla-
very! And today we also have imposed diasporas by poverty, mi-
sery and migration.
Consequently, Africa has always been turned outward, condi-
tioned to go elsewhere.

EDOUARD GLISSANT
„One world in relation“ (2009)
DISSETANTE
(2017)
 DISSETANTE
The taste of Sea for white men only
An ice pop out of water from the Mediterranean Sea,
collected at the border in Ventimiglia, Italy, 2017.

Who does not want to feel the taste of the Sea on his tongue?
An old Italian water ice classic from the 1960s was named Dissetante (engl. Thirst Quencher).
In 2017 it celebrated its re-release at the exhibition of LA DISTANZA VICINA. For this occasion I
made a trip to Ventimiglia, both a holiday destination at the Italian Riviera and the first place to many
refugees arriving in Europe after a long, life-threatening journey through the Meditterranean Sea from
Subsahara-Africa. To many refugees residing in South Tyrol nowadays, this spot was their first place in
Europe and this means the total opposite than to most European tourists yearning for a beach vacation
at the Sea. After the water had been collected in jars it was frozen in small ice forms and labelled with
the former DISSETANTE - cones . Later at the exhibition the water ice creams were distributed as
give-aways to the white European visitors to taste it.
In cooperation with residents of Casa Ruben, refugee house in Malles, Val Venosta.
DISSETANTE
(2017)
DISSETANTE
(2017)
 KLOSN

We know nothing more about the origin, and about when and in what form the customs of the“ Klosens „(= Nicholas
play) originated in Stilfs. Several attempts at interpretation have been made: from ritual noise to the symbolic contact
with the mythical beings who were responsible for the well-being of humans, from pagan fertility cult and demon con-
juration about symbolic struggle with the forces of nature to you interpretive attempts. A solemn rite form, in which the
evil and the good are united, is still decisive today. Characteristic is the symbolism that is present throughout the event.
This leads to the conclusion that here is an elementary form of representation (theatrical action) of human imagination,
after coping with and mastering unknown forces (spirits, gods, fear and instinct = drive, light and darkness) on the one
hand, and striving for reconciliation and balance on the other hand, has been handed down. The symbolism changed
according to the determining elements in religion, thought and understanding of time.
The Perchtenum procession, a formerly primitive noise ritual, underwent a Christian reinterpretation and became a
custom performed today by the 14-19 year old boys on Saturdays before or after St. Nicholas‘ Day. On the Sunday
before the „Klosen“ the community servant announces by „crying out“ on the church square after the office that the
fraternity in the inn to „make out“ may be. In the past, people came to Karmatsch together. There are fierce discussions
about the distribution of the various roles, with those guys who have to take the next year to be mustered as „Scho
er“ entrusted with the leadership to speak the last word. The most sought after is the role of the „donkey“, the mask in
which, dressed in a robe with colorful patches and with ponytails tied around his chest, he can quickly and easily seize the
„victim“ in the wild going-on.
KLAUBAUFS
(2017)
 KLOSN
Characters

The donkeys want to drive away the demons, these are the „Klaubauts“ or „Krampusse“, the self-made, heavy, artisti-
cally designed wooden masks, as well as wearing a long, strip-like shreds and furs robe. In the hand they rattle with a big
chain. Dressed in red or black are the devils. The „whites“ - they wear a long white shirt with a red belt and silver hoops
- form a „Rattan Tractor“, „Catechism Trolley“, „Liachttroger“ and „Köstentroger“ together with the „Sonta Klos“, which
is wrapped in a coat, a white one Beard, bishop‘s cap, ring and staff, the Nikolausgruppe. This third group was probably
assigned late to the game of folklore to give it a Christian meaning. Each of the boys participating in the Klosen has to
pay a small amount of money. This money is used to fill the basket with nuts, apples, gingerbread and chocolates. A few
days before the Klosen a small group of Klaubauten haunts every evening through the village, on the eve of the Klosens
the fourteen-year-olds have to volunteer for some strength tests, since then they are allowed to participate in Klos. On
the 5th of December, eve of St. Nikola did not make any major work in the past. The children at school were restless and
absent throughout the day. After lunch, the children walk through the village with baskets as they carry the Klosergwond
to the point of departure. On Saturday at 14 o‘clock begins the Klosn on „Gaschitsch“, a hill outside the village.
The Nikola and the whites who dress in the parsonage, come here for a joint parade with the donkeys, who have already
dressed in the „Tiaf“, a sink behind Gaschitsch. The first donkey, the one with the largest bells, initiates the procession
by being three times alone on the hill visible from the village. Now, in the wake of the wildly behaving horde of donkeys,
accompanied by his white men and a devil swinging his tail, Nikola walks down the mountainside. In the meantime, the
„Schiachn“ in the mill have thrown themselves into their dark rag robes, put on the fearsome wooden masks and seized
the heavy chains. They join prancing step to the train. At the „Schmiedbrücke“, which leads from the old village over the
Tramentanbach into the new village, donkeys and Klaubauts meet. The groups of donkeys and draftsmen are not well
disposed to each other; they clash, they seem to go on each other and they evade visibly. This happens with a powerful
bark and terrible groaning and chain rattling. Now the actual village procession begins in a well-defined process, for the
order and equipped with a stick, the „Scharsch“ (batch) is responsible.
DONKEYS
(2017)
 KLOSN
The Procession

Teenagers, especially girls and children, but also women and men line the village streets during the procession. So it
happens again and again that some donkeys erupt, running after the onlookers to „uncork them“, i. to pinch her upper
arms. The groups of donkeys and clubs clank their heavy chains in front of children, or they put the chains around the
middle of the body of men and women to swing them in a circle. The masks complete their procession through the
village with ringtones, chain clanking and hum. Now the actual romp begins. Individually or in small groups, the Kloser
roam the streets of the village as far as the „Avemarial“. They also find access in some homes where they are offered
food and drink. The Nikola and the whites, accompanied by a devil, donkey and Klaubauf go from house to house to
give the children with small gifts. Before that, however, they have to speak a prayer or are asked about the catechism.
At Aveläuten, Nikola is praying at the church door of the „Angel of the Lord“. The Kloser, who have now removed their
masks, kneel down and pray with. Then the activity begins again.

At 8 pm the whole crowd roars through the village and ends the Klosen in Stilfs.
(When all this was over, people used to move to the inn, where the older boys were already waiting for the „Ziechn“,
which was more or less a show of strength, when a lad was put a chain in the middle and from the middle of the room
gone off three Klaubauten. Could he abstemmen on the doorstep, so they no longer brought him out. Therefore, more
Krampusse still had to be used for reinforcement. had he finally give in, he was a liter of wine guilty. Now the next turn
came. Later in the night everything slowly dissolved, the Klosn was over.)
A few donkeys perform their activities until late into the night on, then place in a barn to make the next day after the Of-
fice had gathered at the church population again by re-running down and clamps from the starting point of the previous
day‘s attention.
 DONKEYS
portrait series, 2017

„Klosn“ in the old mining village of Stelvio in the upper Venosta valley is one of traditions most shrouded in mystery.
St. Nicholas‘ Day falls on 6th December and on the preceding Saturday three groups of 20 year-old young men con-
gregate to take part in an outlandish custom. They are called „Scheller“ (bell-bearers) or „Esel“ (donkeys) disguised in
motley-coloured rags. On the fronts of their bodies they carry several bells as large as they can handle attached to belts.
They make as much din as possible, imitate donkey braying and now and again roll around on the ground. I portrayed
the chief donkeys-for-one-day after the end of the night, reflecting on the eyes behind the mask. The mask that allows
its carriers to pinch and beat the unmasked residents of the village for one day in anonymity.
DONKEYS
(2017)
DONKEYS
(2017)
DONKEYS
(2017)
DONKEYS
(2017)
 DONKEYS
portrait series, C-Prints, 50x70cm, 2017

„Klosn“ in the old mining village of Stelvio in the upper Venosta valley is one of traditions most shrouded in mystery.
St. Nicholas‘ Day falls on 6th December and on the preceding Saturday three groups of 20 year-old young men con-
gregate to take part in an outlandish custom. They are called „Scheller“ (bell-bearers) or „Esel“ (donkeys) disguised in
motley-coloured rags. On the fronts of their bodies they carry several bells as large as they can handle attached to belts.
They make as much din as possible, imitate donkey braying and now and again roll around on the ground.
DONKEYS
(2017)
DONKEYS
(2017)
DONKEYS
(2017)
DONKEYS
(2017)
 KANKOURANG
The Gambia‘s Kankurang dance is a Mandinka masquerade who is dressed in leaves, bark and ochre coloured tree fibre
with a machete in one hand and a stick in the other. His whole body is often dyed deep orange using vegetable dyes.
Among the Mandinka of the Gambia today there are two basic forms of costumes for these masked dancers, the Fara
(shredded or torn bark from the camel foot tree) and the Fito (leaf) Kankurang.
Often he may chew on bark while performing his menacing dance. His traditional purpose is to round up young boys
who are due for circumcision and guard them against evil spirits by waving his machete while they are being initiated into
manhood in the the sacred bush. This initiation rite normally takes place during August and September. They will also
make a ceremonial appearance at Koriteh, weddings, naming ceremonies and at Christmas when he ceremonially para-
des the streets in a fierce and intimidating manner followed by lots of children and accompanied by his former initiates
beating drums and carrying sticks.
Today, in an around the Greater Banjul area, it is difficult to see authentic Kankurangs as some people in this area simply
put together strips of rags and synthetic fabrics to dress up and roam the town acting menacingly for money. To see the
real thing you need to head off further inland or go to south Gambia. They spend most of their time living in the bush
and come out when called upon.There are several types of Kankurang each serving a different social role.

• Ifangbondi
He is invisible to the human eye and acts to shield boy initiates from evil during the night time.

• Jamba
This masked dancer is responsible for making sure that village society is orderly and disciplined through his enforcement.
This type can be seen at social occasions such as weddings and also welcomes the newly initiated young men back to
the village.

• Wulengo
It is supposed to protect circumcised boys from evil spirits, wicked people and witchcraft.
 KANKOURANG
I remember a time growing up and being fascinated buy the different masquerades our country had
to offer. Being a kid around Christmas time seeing the Kankurangs. The Kankurang is an initiatory rite
practiced throughout the Manding provinces of Senegal and Gambia, mainly corresponding to the
Casamance, and in the city of Mbour. According to tradition, the origin of the Kankurang is to be found
in the Komo, a secret society of hunters whose organization and practices contributed to the emergen-
ce of the Manding.The central character in the Kankurang, is an initiate who wears a mask made of the
bark and red fibre of the faara tree and is clothed in leaves, his body painted with vegetable dyes. He is
associated with circumcision ceremonies and initiatory rites. His appearance is marked by several ritual
stages: the designation of the initiate who will wear the mask and his investiture by the elders, his retreat
into the woods with the initiates, the vigils and processions through the hamlet of the new initiates. The
whole ritual generally takes place between August and September. The Kankurang always parades
surrounded by former initiates and the villagers who respectfully follow his behavior and gestures, and
perform dances and songs. It displays a dance as he wields two machetes and utters piercing cries.

The Kankurang is the guarantor of order and justice as well as the exorcist of evil spirits. As such, he
ensures transmission and teaching of a complex collection of know-how and practices underpinning
Manding cultural identity. A ritual that has spread to other communities and groups of the area, it is the
occasion for young circumcised boys to learn the rules of behavior for the ordering their community,
the secrets of plants and their medicinal values, and hunting techniques. Their traditional practice is in
retreat because of the rapid urbanization of most regions of Senegal and Gambia and the decreasing
extent of sacred forests, which are transformed into cultivated land.
 WHITE SKIN, BLACK MASKS
28 reflections on cultural appropriation
watercolour on paper, 29x42cm, 2017

Black Skin, White Masks (French: Peau noire, masques blancs) is a 1952 book by Frantz Fanon, a psychiatrist and intel-
lectual from Martinique. The book is written in the style of auto-theory, in which Fanon shares his own experiences in
addition to presenting a historical critique of the effects of racism and dehumanization, inherent in situations of colonial
domination, on the human psyche.
Black Skin, White Masks applies historical interpretation, and the concomitant underlying social indictment, to under-
stand the complex ways in which identity, particularly Blackness is constructed and produced. In the book, he applies
psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic theory to explain the feelings of dependency and inadequacy that black people
might experience. That the divided self-perception of the Black Subject who has lost his native cultural origin, and em-
braced the culture of the Mother Country, produces an inferiority complex in the mind of the Black Subject, who then
will try to appropriate and imitate the culture of the colonizer. Such behavior is more readily evident in upwardly mobile
and educated Black people who can afford to acquire status symbols within the world of the colonial ecumene, such as
an education abroad and mastery of the language of the colonizer, the white masks.

In contrast to this content I experimented with my formal language as a white, privileged artist and wondered how much
it was culturally appropriated from Black African Cultures. Me, born in 1989, was was influenced by naive and sexist
imaginations of what an African mask or tribal cultures would look like through pop music culture as well as eurocentric
education about African cultures and history in school. After I had found a black dinosaur mask in a discounter labelled
with the name „jungle - mask“, I made a photographic self portrait, that I printed out on white paper sheets in black and
white. Afterwards I painted according to my age 28 versions, where I reflected on my history of appropriating African
shapes from the 90s till today.
WHITE SKIN, BLACK MASKS
(2017)
WHITE SKIN, BLACK MASKS
(2017)
WHITE SKIN, BLACK MASKS
(2017)
 ANIMALISM IN EXPERIMENT
performance, 2017
At a workshop with Sasha Waltz choreographer Mikel Aristegui we examined the body as catalyst through choreography and
migration. At the course all attending artists were about to investigate on migrative and hybrid forms of the body and their expe-
riences they could develop in a group exercise. I invented a group performance for people from different cultural backgrounds, to
re-develop their own identities after migrative or traumatic experiences in a playful way. A group performance finally took place in
June at University of the Arts in Berlin. All participants were from different cultural backgrounds and were not prepared for the task
I gave them. The performance was divided among three parts. One and two took place in the morning hours ( outside in the grass
as a possibility to experience yourself accompanied by a teacher, without documentary) and a third part, the experimental group
performance in the afternoon (without audience). The task follows below.

Preparation: Look for a space where you feel comfortable and safe, where you do not feel observed and free to let yourself flow.
Get rid of your shoes and socks. Feel the grass under your feet and the sun on your skin. Give yourself time till you are ready to start.

1. YOUR OWN SECRET, PHANTASTIQUE CREATURE

Close your eyes. Imagine you are a fantastic creature. Think about the qualities and characteristsics it could have and Invent one
after your own imagination. Keep your thoughts as your secret. Do not tell anyone about your invention.

2. FEEL THE POWER OF YOUR SECRET, FANTASTIC CREATURE INSIDE OF YOU

Give yourself a break about ten minutes.
Follow the tasks of the 3rd Task (MAKE A MOVE) and close your eyes while moving as your creature
a) in an organic way
(how are the characteristical movements and gestures of your creature?)
b) in a linear way (how could your fantastic creature move back and forth?)

3. GET TOGETHER WITH THE OTHER SECRET CREATURES

Experience your different qualities together and try to play with them.
Do you feel energies, rhythms or powers between you and other creatures happening?
Let them flow and play them. Give yourself an experience for about half an hour.
ANIMALISM IN EXPERIMENT
(2017)
ANIMALISM IN EXPERIMENT
(2017)
ANIMALISM IN EXPERIMENT
(2017)
 BODY OF RITUALS
performance workshop and 3 Channel-Installation, 2017

In September 2017 I created a workshop programme for young African residents of the refugee house
Casa Ruben in Malles, South Tyrol. Most of the young refugees arriving in South Tyrol fleed of eco-
nomic causes or were sent by their families to find a job in Europe and to support their parents and
brothers and sisters financially. While being neither a part of their homecountry or a part of their new
place of residence in Italy, many find themselves thrown back in a waiting situation, that is also caused
by a cultural identity crisis. To reflect on this situation and to find a way to express themselves in new
experimental and hybrid ways, I created a workshop programme to reflect on own and new (alien)
rituals. For that I also applied the workshop programme of ANIMALISM IN EXPERIMENT.

As dance, music and mask rituals belong essentially to the cultures (Gambian, Senegalese and Ni-
gerian) of all young men in Malles, I offered three weekends to reflect on their bodies as a catalyst of
migration. In the first workshop the participants got to know their body as a performative catalyst, in
the second workshop they reflectes on new cultures of mask rituals by creating new hybrid masks and
costumes to express their feelings individually and in the third workshop they invented an own dance
and performance while reflecting on their inner phantastique creature and making their own beats with
the help of a sound educator. The workshop took place in cooperation with Harald Punter, a sculptor
and local mask carver as well as Sarah Wölker, a sound designer from Berlin.

Later some of the results were shown at the exhibition of LA DISTANZA VICINA.
 BODY OF RITUALS
Mask and Costume by Gabriel
 BODY OF RITUALS
Mask and Costume by Abdou
BODY OF RITUALS
Mask by Omar
 BODY OF RITUALS
Mask and Costume by Omar
 BODY OF RITUALS
Mask and Costume by Famous (2017)
 BODY OF RITUALS
Mask and Costume by San Buyang
 BODY OF RITUALS
Perfromance by Famous, 3-Channel Installation, 1‘ 30
Masks! Oh Masks!
Black mask, red mask, you black and white masks,
Rectangular masks through whom the spirit breathes,
I greet you in silence!
And you too, my panterheaded ancestor.
You guard this place, that is closed to any feminine laughter, to any mortal smile.
You purify the air of eternity, here where I breathe the air of my fathers.
Masks of maskless faces, free from dimples and wrinkles.
You have composed this image, this my face that bends
over the altar of white paper.
In the name of your image, listen to me!
Now while the Africa of despotism is dying – it is the agony of a pitiable princess,
Just like Europe to whom she is connected through the naval.
Now turn your immobile eyes towards your children who have been called
And who sacrifice their lives like the poor man his last garment
So that hereafter we may cry ‘here’ at the rebirth of the world being the leaven that the white
flour needs. For who else would teach rhythm to the world that has died of machines and cannons?
For who else should ejaculate the cry of joy, that arouses the dead and the wise in a new dawn?
Say, who else could return the memory of life to men with a torn hope?
They call us cotton heads, and co ee men, and oily men.
They call us men of death.
But we are the men of the dance whose feet only gain
power when they beat the hard soil.

LÉOPOLD SÉDAR SENGHOR

Prayer to the Masks (1945)
 MASKS
ambiliteral
Videowork (2017)

While working during summer at the community engaged project LA DISTANZA VICINA,
I was researching on hybrid forms of cultural expression among South Tyrols local population and its
new one. Therefore I examined the future and critical points of development in mask cultures on both
sides. I worked both in the small town of Glorenza with local clubs in the FORUM TRADIT /ADAPT
as well as with local refugee houses, e.g. Casa Ruben in Malles in Val Venosta.

After examining both sides in their safe spaces I detected vicinities and relations between mask rituals
in Italy, especially South Tyrol and the originate homes of new South Tyroleans from The Gambia,
Nigeria, Senegal. I began to collect private footage and film material from participants of both sides, di-
scussed and learned about the roots of each ritual and cut a film out of all contributions and influences.

Duration: 38‘.
MASKS
ambiliteral
Videowork, 2017

MASKS
(2017)
MASKS
(2017)
TENT FOR TWO
(2017)
 TENT FOR TWO
Installation and Videowork, 2017

TENT FOR TWO was an installation for the videowork of MASKS and was presented at the exhi-
bition of LA DISTANZA VICINA. The installation created a space, where for each screening one
European and one African person should have the possibility to encounter, to stay for a while together,
to dicuss and to reflect on their own cultural roots and get to know the others cultural identity. The task
for every visitor of the tent was as following: Enter the tent as a couple from two different cultures. Talk
about what you see! Duration: 38‘.

The video includes amongst others:

Carnevale in val dei Mòcheni
Carnival in Rocca Grimalda (Lachera)
Dogon Tribal Mask Dance
Fasnacht in Tramin (Schnappviecher Wudelen)
Fi la moudjié niou diape ko di yobou kholéne Il rito della Stella a Palù del Fersina
Le Kankouran en Pikin, Dakar
Klosn, Stelvio
Umuoji Masquerade
Scheibenschlagen, Laatsch
Simb Groupe Diamm Yo, Dakar
Pfuagziachn Stelvio
Khankourang Mandinga Ritual, Gambia
TENT FOR TWO
(2017)
TENT FOR TWO
(2017)
 SPEAK UP!
installation and workshop, 2018

In January 2018 I realised two small projects at Casa Ruben Refugee Camp.

After studying African diasporic literatures in the last two years, I detected the need of a room for po-
etry and literature in the Refugee Camp that was not German or Italian or eurocentric, but connecting
to the cultural roots of the residents themselves. Therefore I made a collection of young Black African
authors who experienced diasporic movements, loss of home and redefinition of their identity and
installed them in a small space next to the kitchen on the first floor of the building. The residents were
able to take a rest and read there as well as expressing their thoughts about the collection or rhymes
on the wall.

The second project was referring to self-expression and empowerment. When they arrive in Italy, most
refugees get no psychological help and have no possibility to to look back on their pasts and reappraise
them. Furthermore neither political expressions or statements are possible until they get all their papers
and are accepted as common residents in Italy. To answer to that situation the SPEAK-UP workshop
session started at the beginning of January. The residents were able to express themselves visually by
spray cans in symbols and pictures that have had value to them since they had left their homes, created
flags and banners on thermal blankets and gave the entrance of the house a new appearance.
An exhibition at the Gemeindehaus Malles might follow soon.
ROOM FOR YOUNG AFRICAN POETRY
(2018)
SPEAK UP!
(2018)
 COMMEMORATIVE MARCH
in memory of the Black African victims of enslavement,
transatlantic slave trade, colonialism, and racial violence
banner workshop, 2018

To support the 12th commemorative march in memory of the African/ Black victims of enslavement and the transat-
lantic slave trade, colonialism, and racial violence on the February 24th, 2018 in Berlin we as a group of students at the
Institute for Art in Context (UdK Berlin) formed a group out of seminar members of Kristina Lekos course on Deco-
lonization and the German Heritage of the Genocide of the Herero and Nama at the beginning of the 20th century.
The group consisted mainly of students in politically and socially engaged arts, who wanted to raise awareness for the
problematic German colonial heritage at students minds at University of the Arts as well as for all people we could
reach. We saw, it could be a possibility to support the march and its committee via visual appearance. Therefore we
worked out the main points of the march with activists of KADIB and then made an open call and invited all Art and
Design students at UdK to a workshop to design and create banners and transparents together.

Main Points of the Commemorative March were:

*commemoration of the victims of racist and police violence that not yet have gained recognition by German Govern-
ment (Adriano, Amadeu Antonio, Ndeye Mareme Sarr, Laye Condé, Dominique Koumadio, Oury Jalloh)

* Demands to the Federal Government: Dealing with colonial past in school Education, memorial for colonial past,
renaming of streets

* End of Cultural Appropriation, Slavery, Effects of Colonialism, Reparations and official recognition to the victims of
Genocide in Namibia

* No to Humboldt-Forum and the return of stolen art to the African states

 COMMEMORATIVE MARCH
in memory of the Black African victims of enslavement,
transatlantic slave trade, colonialism, and racial violence
march and performance, 2018

The Herero and Nama genocide in Namibia and the war crimes committed in Tanzania (Maji-Maji-War) have still yet to be officially recognised
by Germany.We call upon the federal government of Germany to immediately issue an apology to the Herero, to the victims and their descen-
dants of the Namibian genocide, and to negotiate reparative actions with the representatives of the victims. People of African descent were force-
fully sterilized by the Nazis or murdered in concentration camps. Hundreds of thousands of people of African descent were killed in action, while
fighting for the Allies in the liberation of Germany from the Nazi regime. Thousands of remains from people of African descent (used for racial
research) still sit in German museums and research institutions today. Immediate action must take place, so that the remains can be returned to
Africa with dignity and given its proper burial and respect. German museums still exhibit numerous stolen African artifacts.
It is planned that these artifacts will be presented in the 1 billion euro reconstructed Berlin palace (Humboldt forum).
We demand that the federal government and the „Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz“, as announced by the French president Macron, to return
these illegally acquired cultural artifacts to their respective African countries.
There are currently no memorials in Berlin to honour the African victims of enslavement, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonialization and nazi cri-
mes, despite Germany‘s claimed international commitment at the UN World Conference against Racism (in Durban), and the UN International
Decade for People of African Descent (2015 -2024). Even today, there is little measure taken in confronting Germany‘s past colonial history.Many
German streets are still named after colonial criminals and slave traders are honoured in some german cities (Hamburg).
There has recently been a rise in racial violence and police brutality (some resulting in death) committed against Africans and Blacks in Europe
and America.
The memorial march this year is dedicated to the many Africans and Blacks who experience racial violence and police brutality. After the reunifica-
tion of Germany, people of African descent were the first casualties of racial violence (Adriano, Amadeu Antonio). Many like Ndeye Mareme Sarr,
Laye Condé, Dominique Koumadio..., and asylum seeker Oury Jalloh, who died in a prison cell in Dessau afterhaving his hands and feet bound to
a mattress, which was then set on fire, have been the victims of police brutality. 13 years later, an increasing amount of evidence points towards the
Dessau police as the perpetrators of his death. We demand that the German police, the state attorneys, the ministries of justice and the recently
founded international commission to cooperate transparently, in order to reveal the circumstances surrounding Oury Jalloh‘s death.

(KADIB)” (Committee for the construction of an African memorial in Berlin)

 INSTANT
BANNER AIDE
As a performative intervention
I offered myself as an Instant
Banner Machine for those who
decided to join the march spon-
taneously. Instantly they could
spray there own banner or ask
me to make one for them.
The Instant Banner Aide was
equipped with prepared banners
spray cans, instant colours, letter
stencils and gas masks.