Unrecounted exhibition at Venice Biennale 2015 confronts German colonial legacy in Namibia
In the opening week of the 2015 Venice Biennale, Palazzo Pisani hosted the unofficial exhibition 'Unrecounted,' which examined Germany's colonial past in Namibia. Curated by Sarah Hegenbart, Vid Simoniti, and Adina Drinceanu, the showcase included Christoph Schlingensief's 70-minute film 'The African Twin Towers' (2005-2009) and Nicola Brandt's three-channel video 'Indifference' (2014). This exhibition highlighted the genocide of the Herero and Nama peoples from 1904 to 1908, which Germany recognized as genocide in July 2015. Both artists addressed historical accountability without being overly instructive; Schlingensief filmed in Namibia, while Brandt worked alongside Herero community members. It linked to broader themes of the Biennale under Okwui Enwezor and referenced the Humboldt Forum in Berlin, aiming to confront historical amnesia.
Key facts
- Exhibition 'Unrecounted' held May 4-9, 2015 at Palazzo Pisani in Venice during the Venice Biennale
- Featured artists Christoph Schlingensief (1960-2010) and Nicola Brandt (born 1983 in Windhoek)
- Curated by Sarah Hegenbart (Germany), Vid Simoniti (Slovenia), and Adina Drinceanu (Romania)
- Focused on German colonial history in Namibia and the 1904-1908 genocide of Herero and Nama peoples
- Germany acknowledged the massacres as genocide in July 2015, a century after colonial rule ended
- Schlingensief's film 'The African Twin Towers' documented an attempt to stage Wagner's Ring Cycle in Namibia
- Brandt's video 'Indifference' featured three generations including Herero woman Uakondjisa Kakuekuee Mbari
- Exhibition was an unofficial fringe event, with the National Art Gallery of Namibia providing support
Entities
Artists
- Christoph Schlingensief
- Nicola Brandt
- Okwui Enwezor
- C. T. Jasper
- Joanna Malinowska
- Magdalena Moskalewicz
- Uakondjisa Kakuekuee Mbari
- Katuvangua Migal Maendo
- W. G. Sebald
- T. J. Demos
- Jill Bennett
- Stefan Zweig
- Adolf Hitler
- Richard Wagner
- Werner Herzog
- Patti Smith
- Elisa Schaar
- Laura C. Mallonee
- Michael Scaturro
- Lilly Wei
Institutions
- Venice Biennale
- National Art Gallery of Namibia
- Humboldt Forum
- Polish Pavilion
- German Pavilion
- Angolan Pavilion
- Kenyan Pavilion
- Bayreuth Festival
- Opera Village Africa
- Sternberg Press
- Stanford University Press
- Hyperallergic
- ARTnews
- The Guardian
- Die Zeit
- ARTMargins Online
- Oxford
- filmgalerie451
Locations
- Venice
- Italy
- Namibia
- Germany
- Windhoek
- Lüderitz
- Swakopmund
- Berlin
- Slovenia
- Romania
- Burkina Faso
- Peru
- Amazon rainforest
- Haiti
- Poland
- France