Ersan Mondtag counters the pavilion’s fascist architecture oriented towards eternity with a “monument” whose intellectual center is the question of collective memory; What do we take
with us, what do we leave behind?
Its starting point is the biography of the artist’s grandfather, Hasan Aygün. Originally from a poor, rural region east of Ankara, Aygün moved to West Berlin in the mid-1960s and worked for more than 30 years at the Eternit company, which manufactured building materials from asbestos.
Leaving for a future in Berlin, 3000 kilometers away, was the only
opportunity for him to escape a life in abject poverty with no
prospects. But for him, it also turned into a deadly trap. In 1993,
asbestos processing was finally banned in Germany. Shortly after his retirement, Aygün died from a severe lung condition that
was clearly caused by inhaling the toxic fibers.
The performace piece is a collection of memories recreated from past ghosts of Ersan Mondtag's grandfather's life.
Germany Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Art Biennale
Additional footage provided courtesy of ArtPatico
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