Katharina Kohl

*1956, lives and works in Hamburg

Erinnerungslücken / Innere Sicherheit #2, Germany 2020 , 4:22 min

http://www.katharinakohl.de/

A dark chapter of recent German history is addressed in Katharina Kohl’s film. The artist approaches the NSU trial, in which the right-wing extremist terror group “National Socialist Underground” committed a total of 10 murders between 2000 and 2007. During the trial, which lasted five years, investigators from all areas of the constitutional state were questioned. In the process, themes of absence manifest themselves: Absence of clear circumstances. Absence of justice, of truth, of information, of distance from terror, of certainty and of evidence. This absence is black and blackened. This representation reveals a strong gesture and desire for not wanting to remember. Those in power do not want to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions. They prefer ignorance and oblivion over the weight of their own position.

The film shown is one part of the extensive artistic work, which is accompanied by a book: https://revolver-publishing.com/personalbefragung-innere-sicherheit.html

curated by Robert Seidel within the programme Phantom Horizons

The on-going screening series Phantom Horizons presents digital as well as analogue works that question the paradigm of linear perspective, seeking a new kind of “status perspective” [Bedeutungsperspektive]. The latter was a development of ancient and medieval painting, in which the size of figures is determined by their hierarchical significance. Extending this approach using the methodology of deconstruction and the possibilities of contemporary film creation, the presented works open up multifaceted, unseen horizons.

Robert Seidel *1977, lives and works in Berlin.  | www.robertseidel.com