Sung Tieu's Exhibition at KW Institute Confronts German Reunification's Exploitative Legacies
Sung Tieu's exhibition titled '1992, 2025' is being held at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin from February 15 to May 4, 2025. The show delves into themes of exploitation and systemic racism following the reunification of Germany. Having moved to Germany in 1992, Tieu reflects on her mother's challenges with residency and the experiences of Vietnamese contract workers in the GDR. Curated by Léon Kruijswijk, the exhibition includes pieces such as 'Cultural Appropriation (in the GDR)' and 'Midair,' which underscore labor exploitation. It also confronts issues of racial violence, including the 1992 stabbing of Nguyễn Văn Tú, while critiquing institutional practices and highlighting the urgent need for reform in light of the increasing support for Alternative für Deutschland in recent elections.
Key facts
- Sung Tieu's exhibition '1992, 2025' runs from February 15 to May 4, 2025 at KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin
- The show explores legacies of German reunification, focusing on Vietnamese contract workers in the GDR and their marginalization post-reunification
- Key works include 'Cultural Appropriation (in the GDR)', 'Midair', and 'Read Me, Wear Me, Fear Me' addressing exploitation and racism
- Nearly 72,000 Vietnamese workers arrived in the GDR between 1980 and 1990 under exploitative conditions
- The exhibition marks Tieu's receipt of the Schering Stiftung Award for Artistic Research
- Curator Léon Kruijswijk organized the show with a spatial division between GDR aftermath and coping strategies
- Works like 'Unspeakable Compromise #2' use reflective surfaces to require peripheral viewing, echoing fugitive experiences
- Tieu critiques institutional power through proposals for a memorial to Nguyễn Văn Tú and KW board membership reforms
Entities
Artists
- Sung Tieu
- Heiner Müller
- Claire Bishop
- Benjamin Buchloh
- Cameron Rowland
- Theaster Gates
- Michel Foucault
- Christopher Williams-Wynn
- Emma Enderby
- Nguyễn Văn Tú
Institutions
- KW Institute for Contemporary Art
- Schering Stiftung
- n. b. k.
- MIT List Visual Arts Center
- Haus der Kulturen der Welt
- Berliner Zeitung
- The New York Times
- German People's Union (DVU)
- Republikaner
- National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD)
- Die Heimat
- Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU)
- Christian Social Union (CSU)
- Social Democrats (SPD)
- Alternative für Deutschland
- Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut
- Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz
- Max Planck Gesellschaft
- Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD)
- Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
- Krupp Foundation
- Institute for Studies on Latin American Art
- ARTMargins Online
- Verso
- Dietz Verlag
- 4A_Lab
- Harvard University
Locations
- Berlin
- Germany
- Cambridge, MA
- United States
- Vietnam
- Angola
- Guinea-Bissau
- Cuba
- Mozambique
- Algeria
- Syria
- Hoyerswerda
- Rostock
- Marzahn
- Baden-Württemberg
- Schleswig-Holstein
- Bautzen
- London
- United Kingdom
- Florence
- Italy
Sources
- ARTMargins —
- ARTMargins —