Meet The Memory Person
A performative monument by
Alexey Yevets | Anick Messerschmitt | Dmitrii Ostrtsov | Eliza Kokeyan | Elvin Turgut | Emver Retzep Oglou | Franziska Windolf with quotations paraphrasing Adnan Al-Dhahir, Haydar Isik, Ivan Binar, Milorad Vujovic, Wladimir Nikolajewitsch Woinowitsch | Halina Prakapenka | Hammoud Radwan | Hanna Vasina | Iriet Yusuf | Iriet Yusuf and her primary school children in Giesing | Kathrin Knöpfle | Katja Kushnir | Ksenia Bykovsky | Leonid Hrytsak | Liana Chernetska | Maisoun Alfarawati | Manuel Friedrich | Mariam Monga | Matyáš Slabý & Barbora Šubrotová & Jakub Klimeš | Mehmet “Schlosser” | Miriam Worek | Natalia Shynkarova | Nicolas Wannenmacher | Olena Mytko | Pepi | Ping-Pong group | Polina Nagurnaia | Seb | Selin Julia Sissiyo | Simona Pekařová | smadlmachts | Sudipa Roy | Su Turhan | Viktoriia Ivasyshyna | Some, who wish to remain anonymous.
2023 - ongoing
Artistic concept: Franziska Windolf
Curation: Mareike Schwarz (2023)
Performers: Franziska Windolf, Jegor Kondratyuk, Konouz Saeed, Lisavieta Bogushevskaya, Polina Kathsenka, Simone Kokou, Viviana Iacob
︎ Project website: https://www.memoryperson.com/de
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︎ Catalogue
The Memory Person: A Performative Monument to Migrant and Exiled Creative Individuals
In 2023 and 2024, The Memory Person, a public figure embodied by different performers, served as a unique and interactive public art installation in the Giesing district of Munich. This ongoing project aims to preserve and celebrate the memories of exiled creative individuals, fostering a connection between the past, present, and future.
Collecting and Sharing Memories and Stories
By engaging with current residents of Giesing, The Memory Person collected personal memories, artworks, and stories. They illuminate the often-overlooked contributions of exiled and migrated creative individuals to the cultural and social fabric of the city. Through curated city walks to sites of exile and migration, workshops, and casual encounters, the project wants to address gaps in memory culture and make them accessible to a wider audience.
A Walking Repository of Remembrance
Inspired by Karl Valentin's iconic 'Reklamemensch,' The Memory Person adorns their clothing with mementoes and poetic dedications. These items serve as visual cues, prompting conversations and exchanges with passersby and residents. In return for sharing their own memories and experiences, participants received one of these tokens, creating a tangible connection to the project and fostering a sense of shared history.
A Polyphonic Approach to Commemoration
The Memory Person challenges traditional notions of commemoration by intertwining diverse perspectives and experiences. Through the exchange of memories and the collection of mementos the project aims to create a more inclusive and multifaceted understanding of the past, present and future.
A Continuing Journey
The project will travel to Ústí nad Labem, Czech Republic, in October 2024. The thematic focus is ‘Identity and family history in the Sudetenland.'
Catalogue in German and English: PDF
Texts in English: static Vol. 3 No. 1 (2024) or gd:c newsletter (shorter version)
Video documentation by filmmaker Mathias Reitz Zausinger, 2023
Funded by
2023
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This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No 724649-METROMOD). This project was developed within Franziska Windolf’s fellowship at the Käte Hamburger Research Centre global dis:connect and was initiated by the ERC project ‘Relocating Modernism: Global Metropolises, Modern Art and Exile (METROMOD)’.
2024
