From October 19t to 27th, artists-and-photographers-in-residence with ARS BALTICA / Nordkolleg Arthur Bondar and Oksana Yushko displayed their exhibition titled 'Remapping Memories' in cooperation with and at the Museum der Trostfrauen - Korea Verband e.V at Quitzowstraße 103, 10551 Berlin. Now that it is over, Oksana Yushko reflects on it.
In regions where borders have been redrawn and territories contested, the historical dimension of landscape is significant. How do landscapes become sites of remembrance? How does conflict affect these places, both physically and symbolically? What is the role of art in preserving or reimagining these "contaminated landscapes"?
The exhibition Remapping Memories was on display at the Museum der Trostfrauen in Berlin from 19 to 27 October. It uses a method that links philosophical texts and fictional diaries with documentary negatives from Arthur Bondar's World War II archival collection (https://ww2abc.com), allowing a deeper exploration of memory and history. The chapters of the project have a collage-like structure in which images and texts are interwoven to create a narrative that recontextualizes the landscapes and memorial sites associated with personal and collective trauma. This approach allows the viewer to engage with themes of fragmented narratives and micro-histories, and the use of private archives to reshape or challenge dominant historical narratives and forgotten memories that carry the weight of historical events and wars.
As W.G. Sebald wrote in The Rings of Saturn: "What we perceive are no more than isolated lights in the abyss of our ignorance, in the shadow-filled valleys of forgetfulness over which the giants of the past are marching to their doom". The project aims to highlight these forgotten stories and encourage us to think critically about our relationship with the past, personal memory and the collective future.
Archival collection: Arthur Bondar
Texts: Max Sher
Curator: Oksana Yushko
Museum der Trostfrauen, Berlin
20-27 October, 2024
Text by Oksana Yushko
