Abt. Geschichtswissenschaft

As noted in the description of the exhibition of his work at the same time, “bear witness to various forms of violence stemming from colonialist ideologies” and “create a sense of humanity in which dignity triumphs over humiliation.” I would like to highlight the central work, a huge video installation called Noubia, dedicated to the artist's aunt, who migrated to Osnabrück and worked there as a sex worker.

This was perhaps the first time I had seen the animation of old photographs using AI, a popular technique in "conflict-free" digital humanities in museum practices, used in such an emotionally accurate and poignant way. Noubia's photos (are they authentic?) come to life, "telling" in the everyday voice of an elderly heroine, frightening but ordinary stories of the adaptation of a migrant woman and sexual exploitation. Both the agoraphobic space of the hall and the “uncanny valley” inaccuracies of moving pictures convey alienation and capture the fleeting flow of memory. 

(photo by Aleksandr Rusanov)

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