handbreastheart
A gesture. A dance. A map of connection.
The Cold War is an imperialist empire-building project via proxy wars in settler-colonized spaces. This story explores how past colonial practices of enslavement and extraction have morphed into our present Cold War militarism. The Western narrative claims the Cold War is over however conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, Chechnya & Georgia, Afghanistan, Iran, and Sudan (just to name a few) say otherwise. This story takes place in Berlin, Germany. Berlin has an outsized significance in European empire expansion. It was the location of the African partition in 1884-85, the seat of German power in WWI & WWII, and the epicenter of the Cold War. hand, breast, heart is a story template for communities to explore their entanglements to present and past colonialism. A space to unravel unspoken trauma into collective grief. It centers on a young black woman who discovers a surprising connection to the city that reveals how deeply intertwined our struggles are. With newfound friends, they make an art of grief and mourning.
handbreastheart kollectiv
The collective builds connections across barriers by recognizing shared experiences and historical links that have emerged in the face of exclusion and erasure. Employing an interdisciplinary approach, the collective explores public spaces through walks and other interventions creating community counter-narratives to transform grief into joy and healing.
