Remapping Memories, 2024

Museum der Trostfrauen, Berlin, Germany, 2024
in collaboration with the Historical Workshop Leonid Lewin, Minsk, Belarus

Archive Collection: Arthur Bondar
Texts: Max Sher
Curator: Oksana Yushko
Design: Konstantin Eremenko

The Remapping Memories exhibition offers an opportunity to revisit our collective memory, adding depth and complexity to what we see, think and know. Through the lens of Arthur Bondar's archival collection of World War II negatives - over 30,000 images - this project highlights the human aspect of forgotten, hidden and rediscovered personal stories and micro-histories often overlooked in dominant historical narratives.

Nature itself bears witness to history, with 'contaminated landscapes' holding memories of war and peace. Memory works in an associative way, perceiving connections to our own experiences and history. A peaceful countryside, a quiet forest, a beautiful riverbank - these may not be just scenes of natural beauty and picturesque aesthetics.

Max Sher's texts provide an additional narrative thread, interwoven with the archive images, but existing as their own distinct commentary. His words highlight the power of context to alter our perception and invite the viewer to look beyond the surface of each image.
The age of post-truth has taught us that history is not just a collection of fixed facts, but a narrative shaped by those who tell it.

In today's world, where historical facts and events can be distorted by ideological influences or even manipulated by artificial intelligence, the authenticity and interpretation of archival material takes on a new urgency. "To photograph is to frame, and to frame is to exclude," wrote Susan Sontag. The exhibition attempts to reverse this exclusion by reframing the images in a broader, more inclusive context.

These are real negatives, real images - yet it challenges us to think critically about how easily history can be rewritten and the importance of rethinking our relationship with the past, personal memory and collective future, offering different perspectives on the conflicts that continue to shape our world today.