Gedächtnislücken #revisited

Gaps in memory #revisited
A temporary memorial to the gaps in the investigation of the NSU complex.

Art project by the artist Katharina Kohl in public space, 05.06.-12.07.2026
Opening: Friday, June 5, 2026, 4 pm, Ballindamm/Jungfernstieg, on behalf of the artist

On June 5, 2026 at 4 p.m., "Gedächtnislücken #revisited", the temporary memorial to the gaps in the investigation of the NSU complex by Hamburg artist Katharina Kohl, will open at the digital cultural column on the corner of Ballindamm and Jungfernstieg in Hamburg in the presence of the artist. Until July 12, 2026, the artist's black and white works on advertising pillars and other display surfaces in the midst of brightly colored advertising at various locations in Hamburg will invite passers-by to take a closer look at the graphics.

"As far as I know, we knew nothing" - the memory gaps of the interviewees in the 2nd Committee of Inquiry into the NSU complex shine out from the blackened pages and point to the gaps in the investigation into the series of murders, which also left its mark in Hamburg with the murder of Süleyman Taşköprü on June 27, 2001, 25 years ago. The initiators of the project, Katharina Kohl and art historian Nina Kalenbach, would like to use this project to remind people of the gaps that still exist in the investigation of the NSU complex, including in Hamburg.

The kick-off of the supporting program will take place on 7 June 2026 from 2.30 pm at Kölibri, GWA St. Pauli and will begin with a film screening: "Dann vergesse ich alles", a film about the work of Ali Riza Ceylan. The theme of this afternoon discussion is " Living with the consequences of right-wing violence and racism". Okan Taşköprü (Hamburg), filmmaker Ibrahim Arslan (Mölln), artist Ali Riza Ceylan (Cologne), as well as Fatma Ceylan and Bengü Kocatürk-Schuster from the initiative Herkesin Meydanı - Platz für alle, (Cologne) will talk about this and then discuss it with the audience. The moderator will be the Hamburg artist Dan Thy Nguyen.

Everyone on the panel has experienced what it feels like to live on after experiencing violence - as a relative, as a victim or as a close friend. Their lives are as different as their coping strategies. What helps and strengthens them to survive and lead a life in dignity?

Katharina Kohl's graphic series Gedächtnislücken (2018) will appear in magazines as well as on posters in urban spaces, and the entire series of 40 graphic sheets can also be viewed in digital space. The graphics can also be viewed outside of Hamburg on the website gedaechtnis-luecken.de and the Instagram account. In addition to background information on Gedächtnislücken #revisited, the website also announces the individual events of the admission-free supporting program.

The project Gedächtnislücken #revisited is funded by the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Ministry of Culture and Media and the Liebelt Foundation, Hamburg.