History Will Repeat Itself: Strategies of Reconstitution in Art and Performance

The exhibition 'History Will Repeat Itself' at Hartware Medium Kunst Verein in Dortmund (June 9–September 23, 2007) and KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin (November 18, 2007–January 13, 2008) explores reconstitution strategies in postmodern art. Curated around thirty emblematic works, the show distinguishes reconstitution from mere remake or citation, emphasizing critical reexamination of historical events. Key works include Pierre Huyghe's 'The Third Memory' (revisiting a 1972 Brooklyn bank robbery), Jeremy Deller's 'The Battle of Orgreave' (re-enacting a 1984 miners' strike in South Yorkshire), and Irina Botea's 'Auditions for a Revolution' (the 1989 Romanian revolution). Other artists include Artur Zmijewski (addressing deportation) and the duo Moser & Schwinger (tackling the Clinton-Lewinsky affair). The exhibition argues that artists approach history not as a fixed set of facts but as a constructed narrative—mental, academic, political, and media-driven. By working on the 'story' of history, they expose biases, highlight ideological underpinnings, and reclaim overlooked perspectives. This practice, rooted in the etymological sense of 'history' as inquiry and knowledge, is presented as a polemical yet respectful intervention into analytical territory traditionally reserved for historians.