In 2018, Polish artist Ludomir Franczak visited the Hrdlicka Museum of Man, which is run by the University of Prague, where he discovered an exhibit displaying human bones. According to the description of these objects, they were the mortal remains of "Dahomey Amazon Gutta", who was put on display as part of an “ethnographic show” in the Czech capital in September 1892, where she later died from pneumonia or typhoid fever. This discovery became the starting point for intensive research: backed by an interdisciplinary team of artists and scientists, Ludomir Franczak searched archives and museums throughout Europe to find mentions of Gutta’s biography. He asks how to come to terms with colonialism in Poland and the Czech Republic, how to responsibly handle human remains kept in European collections with responsibility, how racist practices of representation persist, and how he, as a white artist, can address these issues.
The performance of “Gutta” will be followed by a discussion, which will provide the opportunity to examine the topics and questions of the evening in greater depth. There will also be a chance to look at the collections of human remains housed in Berlin museums, aesthetic performance choices, and current discourses surrounding representation and memory.
Guests: Ludomir Franczak, Sára Märc, Isabelle Reimann
The performance and subsequent discussions will look at topics of human remains, the “Völkerschau”, colonialism and racism.
Coproduction with Cross Attic Prag, Studio ALTA Prag, Pracownia Kuratorska Krakau
Supported by: Visegrad Fund