Forensic Architecture Exposes Namibia Genocide in Berlin Exhibition

The Spore Initiative in Berlin hosts 'Fractured Lifeworlds', an exhibition by Forensic Architecture and Forensis, revealing the 1905-1907 genocide of Herero and Nama peoples on Shark Island, Namibia. Using 3D reconstructions, satellite mapping, and visual intelligence, the show uncovers forced labor and extermination by German colonial authorities, who sent victims' skulls to Europe for pseudoscience. The exhibition is structured in three seasonal chapters and employs 'forensic botany' to analyze imperial photographs and satellite imagery, revealing ecological changes and locating 1893 ammunition capsules and destroyed villages like Hornkranz. Featured artist Tuli Mekondjo's work 'Schutztruppe' repurposes German colonial uniforms into memorial garments. The exhibition gains urgency as a planned green hydrogen port near Lüderitz threatens ancestral Nama lands and underwater burial sites. Berlin's ongoing refusal of direct reparations to descendants underscores the political context.