Stories of Traumatic Pasts

Belgian colonialism in the Congo. Anti-Semitism in Austria. Turbo-nationalism in former Yugoslavia. Over the last two centuries, these three historic lines of violence and annihilation (re)enforced a process of oblivion that to this day prevents a processing of the genocides they caused. Today, involuntary or performed amnesia again threatens to destroy what has already come to a point of possible coexistence. This exhibition catalogue goes back to these traumatic events in history and the recent past, which had such a violent impact on communities and people, states and territories, and confront them with a system of interventions. The scars that remain after atrocities, although hidden and obliterated, are recovered through artistic, scientific, and political reflections. Participating artists Valerie Wolf Gang Nicolas Pommier Joëlle Sambi Nzeba Adela Jušić Lana Čmajčanin Bojan Djordjev Sinisa Ilic Dani Gal Monique Mbeka Phoba Anja Salomonowitz Martin Krenn Arye Wachsmuth Elisabeth Bakambamba Tambwe