In a world where colonial history and racist representations are still visible, the question arises: how can we question this past and understand its effects in the present? The workshop A rehearsal to scuttle a monumentby Aria Farajnezhad, which took place on February 17, 2024 at the GAK Gesellschaft für Aktuelle Kunst, dealt with precisely this question.
The workshop is part of a multi-year exploration by Farajnezhad that focuses on a mural in Bremen’s central station – a mosaic that tells a piece of colonial history. The mural, which was donated by Tabak Brinkmann, a local tobacco and cigarette company, in 1957 and was originally intended to depict a supposedly idyllic scene, reveals a racist perspective on closer inspection. In 2002, the mosaic, which had been hidden for many years, was uncovered and restored. Today it decorates the station again and is seen by 150,000 passers-by and travelers every day – a silent reminder of a dark past that is still present in the public space. How can we expose the racism that is inscribed in public space?
The newspaper Probe 1 – ein Monument versenken collects and archives the conversations held during the workshop, in which the participants consider how the Eurocentric view embedded in the mosaic can be counteracted, the colonial symbolisms overwritten and new imagery that shares non-hierarchical views on the notion of humanity can emerge. What remains of us when we free ourselves from the history of colonization and look to the future?
Through the personal contributions of the participants, the mural itself becomes a place of dialog. The archiving method used by Farajanezhad made it possible to preserve these conversations permanently and to make the issues surrounding slavery, colonialism and racism visible in the context of art – as a living discussion that can evolve over time.
This publication was published on the occasion of the workshop A Rehearsal to Scuttle a Monument by Aria Farajnezhad, which took place on February 17, 2024 at the GAK Gesellschaft für Aktuelle Kunst
Published by: Aria Farajnezhad & GAK Society for Contemporary Art
German and English edition
Euro 2,-
Available at the GAK or by mail order at your own expense
Made possible by additional support from:
Der Senator für Kultur der Freien Hansestadt Bremen