Gegen den Strich. Drei grafische Erzählungen: gelebt, Luchadoras und Widerstand – Drei Generationen antikolonialer Protest in Kamerun

In the organizer's words:

Who owns life stories and who is allowed to tell them and how? This question is the common thread running through the graphic novels brought together in this exhibition: Lived by Patricia Vester, Luchadoras - Fighters by Paola Reyes and Steffi Wassermann and Resistance - Three Generations of Anti-Colonial Protest in Cameroon by the Perspektivwechsel association. Gegen den Strich sheds light on the perspectives of anti-colonial remembrance and resistance shown in the graphic narratives.

gelebt - The short life of Bililee Ajamé Machbuba"

The graphic novel gelebt by Patricia Vester tells the story of Bilillee Ajamé Machbuba. It shows how the forcibly abducted Bilillee was forced into a violence-dominated relationship by the Prussian Prince Pückler, whose brutal reality and matrix of injustice is romanticized to this day. From the perspective of an affected sister and mourner, the post-colonial entanglement and distortion of history is graphically processed.

found - intervention and mural action

As part of the exhibition, Patricia Vester presents the mural action gefunden. The action extends the mural of the disappeared in the courtyard of Haus Schwarzenberg, home of the neurotitan gallery, with portraits of children abducted in colonial times. She found these children in paintings in the archives of the Prussian Palaces and Gardens. In order to decolonize their stories, she symbolically removes them from the gold frames in which their stories are still stuck today, so to speak, and adds them to the mural in the courtyard of Haus Schwarzenberg as people who were forcibly disappeared in colonial times. In addition, the painting "Parade unter den Linden" (1839), in which one of the children is depicted as a servant at the Prussian court, is recontextualized in a participatory way. This intervention addresses the deportation of children to the Prussian court and shifts the discourse on colonial history into public space.

Patricia Vester
Patricia Vester, born in Potsdam, is an artist, illustrator, author, diversity trainer and activist for BIPoC (Black, Indigenous People of Color). She designs educational concepts that are critical of racism and is committed to decolonial learning. Her work supports Black communities and socio-political projects and aims to make marginalized perspectives visible.

Luchadoras

The graphic novel "Luchadoras - Fighters" by Paola Reyes and Steffi Wassermann follows the lives of two activists from Colombia and Honduras. The exhibition focuses on the struggles of one of the protagonists: Melissa Martínez lives on Roatán, an island off the Honduran Caribbean coast. Tourists from the Global North spend their vacations here and enjoy the white sandy beaches and expensive vacation resorts. Melissa's life is characterized by the struggle for the rights of the Afro-indigenous Garífuna. Together they fight against the theft of their ancestral land, for a self-determined life and against disappearance. Because the culture of the Garífuna is in danger of disappearing and with it the people who stand up for the rights of the community.

Paola Reyes
Paola Reyes, born in Honduras and living in Berlin, is involved in social movements and projects for the preservation of human, cultural and environmental rights.

Steffi Wassermann
Steffi Wassermann, project coordinator for the FDCL, Forschungs- und Dokumentationszentrum Chile-Lateinamerika e.V., is a journalist and activist who is committed to communicating struggles against colonialism and oppression.

Resistance - Three generations of anti-colonial protest in Cameroon

The graphic novel Widerstand - Drei Generationen antikolonialer Protest in Kamerun (Resistance - Three Generations of Anti-Colonial Protest in Cameroon ) by the Perspektivwechsel association sheds light on resistance to colonial oppression in Cameroon over three generations. The graphic novel makes stories of resistance that were thought to be lost visible and shows impressively: "The shaping of public space must begin with the shaping of public awareness. The authors have succeeded in creating a worthy monument to the resistance in Cameroon that has been going on since the 19th century." (Sharon Dodua Otoo, 2024)

Illustrator

Franky Mindja
Franky Mindja, real name Frank Edgard Mindja Mengouana, was born in Yaoundé in 1994. After studying at the Institut de Formation Artistique (IFA) in Mbalmayo, he worked as an illustrator and comic artist. His work has been exhibited in Florence and elsewhere.

Negro Illustrator
Negro Illustrator, born Daniel Assako, was born in Ebolowa in 1988. He began drawing professionally in 2008 and has since worked in various fields such as commercials and animated films. In 2017, he was involved in the film "Minga et la cuillère cassée".

ARTISTS and AUTHORS

Patricia Vester | Paola Reyes | Steffi Wassermann | Franky Mindja | Negro Illustrator

Verein Perspektivwechsel | Hilaire Djoko

EXHIBITION PROGRAM

17.08. - 6 p.m.
Exhibition opening
Exhibition opening with all participants. We look forward to discussing the exhibition over drinks and music.

30.08. - International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance

- 10 am - 6 pm

Mural action "Found"
Patricia Vester extends the mural of the disappeared in the courtyard of the Neurotitan. The artist will be present at the event Bis wir sie finden! and is looking forward to discussions and questions.

- 7 to 10 p.m.

Commemoration of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearance
Until we find them! - Commemoration of enforced disappearances in Colombia and the collective struggles of those affected. With thematic inputs, audiovisual material, Colombian arepas and music.

04.09. - 6 to 7:30 p.m.

"Luchadoras - Kämpferinnen", graphic novel reading
"Luchadoras - Kämpferinnen", graphic novel reading with the authors and Melissa Martínez (online connection). Event in Spanish and German, interpretation will be provided.

07.09. - 2 to 6 p.m.
Open Memorial Day
Hilaire Djoko, co-author of the graphic novel Resistance - Three Generations of Anti-Colonial Protest in Cameroon will be on site to answer questions about the book and anti-colonial remembrance in Cameroon.

School workshops
School workshops will be offered as part of the exhibition. Interested school classes and teaching staff can contact us directly to arrange an appointment.Further information at: neurotitan.de

Accessibility: Exhibition rooms accessible by elevator. Please register at the entrance, barrier-free toilets in the front building (Mon-Sun 10:00 - 18:00)