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Ghosts of War: Artist superimposes Spanish Civil War scenes on to modern life

Hell’s bitter winds have suddenly reversed and the darkest visions of the Spanish Civil War have drifted back onto the streets of Madrid.

Published: 31 January 2019 10:25 CET
Ghosts of War: Artist superimposes Spanish Civil War scenes on to modern life
All photos from Sebastian Maharg's Pasado en Paralelo project.

And for this, we can thank Chicago-born artist Sebastian Maharg, who has made it possible for us to remember what many of us never even saw. 

Leah Pattem spoke to the artist about the powerful inter-dimensional images and the personal story behind them.

“I want people to realise that this happened right here – closer than we think. It’s easy to look at an old, black and white photograph and be fairly detached  or unphased by what’s in it. But, if that same photo is slotted into a context you walk by every day, then suddenly you’re a participant in that bit of history,” he explained.

“My maternal grandfather fought in the war on the National side and was killed in action on January 21st, 1939, making it almost 80 years to the day. That certainly makes it hit home,” he said.

Spain still struggles to deal with what happened during the Spanish Civil War – the subject that Maharg covers in his works. All of the vintage photographs featured in his images were taken between 1936 and 1939, during the fighting, and it doesn’t make easy viewing.

READ ALSO: The 14 best books about the Spanish Civil War 

“The Spanish Civil War and the subsequent dictatorship are still taboo subjects in many respects. There’s a pervasive attitude by most to just sweep it all under the carpet. Unlike in Italy and Germany, the Franco regime was never toppled, so the elite forged during the dictatorship was never purged and very much still held sway over policy on how to deal with the legacy of the Civil War after Franco’s death. That’s, of course, very one-sided, but today, we’re still seeing how these issues have never been properly resolved,” said Maharg.

“One example is the whole Valley of the Fallen question about where to bury Franco. There are those who still have family members buried in unmarked ditches on the sides of roads, while many streets and squares have been named after the men who were responsible for their deaths.

“Passions still run high and putting aside the diverging stances on the war itself, ultimately the project is about people, not politics. I’d like my photographs to tell the story of ordinary folks coping in very dark times – we shouldn’t sweep that under the carpet.”

Sebastian Maharg’s project, Pasado en Paralelo (the past in parallel), is ongoing.

See more of his images, and continue following his new works via website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. But first, check out his images below: 

 

Leah Pattem is the founder of Madrid No Frills, a blog that celebrates those overlooked corners of Madrid untouched by the gentrification and modernization that has transformed the city in recent decades.

To discover stories that reveal the grittier, real side of Spain's capital, follow her on the Madrid No Frills blog, on Facebook and in Instagram. 

ART

African-born director’s new vision for Berlin cultural magnet

One of the rare African-born figures to head a German cultural institution, Bonaventure Ndikung is aiming to highlight post-colonial multiculturalism at a Berlin arts centre with its roots in Western hegemony.

Published: 8 July 2023 10:13 CEST
African-born director's new vision for Berlin cultural magnet

The “Haus der Kulturen der Welt” (House of World Cultures), or HKW, was built by the Americans in 1956 during the Cold War for propaganda purposes, at a time when Germany was still divided.

New director Ndikung said it had been located “strategically” so that people on the other side of the Berlin Wall, in the then-communist East, could see it.

This was “representing freedom” but “from the Western perspective”, the 46-year-old told AFP.

Now Ndikung, born in Cameroon before coming to study in Germany 26 years ago, wants to transform it into a place filled with “different cultures of the world”.

The centre, by the river Spree, is known locally as the “pregnant oyster” due to its sweeping, curved roof. It does not have its own collections but is home to exhibition rooms and a 1,000-seat auditorium.

It reopened in June after renovations, and Ndikung’s first project “Quilombismo” fits in with his aims of expanding the centre’s offerings.

The exhibition takes its name from the Brazilian term “Quilombo”, referring to the communities formed in the 17th century by African slaves, who fled to remote parts of the South American country.

Throughout the summer, there will also be performances, concerts, films, discussions and an exhibition of contemporary art from post-colonial societies across Africa, the Americas, Asia and Oceania.

‘Rethink the space’

“We have been trying to… rethink the space. We invited artists to paint walls… even the floor,” Ndikung said.

And part of the “Quilombismo” exhibition can be found glued to the floor -African braids laced together, a symbol of liberation for black people, which was created by Zimbabwean artist Nontsikelelo Mutiti.

According to Ndikung, African slaves on plantations sometimes plaited their hair in certain ways as a kind of coded message to those seeking to escape, showing them which direction to head.

READ ALSO: Germany hands back looted artefacts to Nigeria

His quest for aestheticism is reflected in his appearance: with a colourful suit and headgear, as well as huge rings on his fingers, he rarely goes unnoticed.

During his interview with AFP, Ndikung was wearing a green scarf and cap, a blue-ish jacket and big, sky-blue shoes.

With a doctorate in medical biology, he used to work as an engineer before devoting himself to art.

In 2010, he founded the Savvy Gallery in Berlin, bringing together art from the West and elsewhere, and in 2017 was one of the curators of Documenta, a prestigious contemporary art event in the German city of Kassel.

Convinced of the belief that history “has been written by a particular type of people, mostly white and men,” Ndikung has had all the rooms in the HKW renamed after women.

These are figures who have “done something important in the advancement of the world” but were “erased” from history, he added. Among them is Frenchwoman Paulette Nardal, born in Martinique in 1896.

She helped inspire the creation of the “negritude” movement, which aimed to develop black literary consciousness, and was the first black woman to study at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Reassessing history

Ndikung’s appointment at the HKW comes as awareness grows in Germany about its colonial past, which has long been overshadowed by the atrocities committed during the era of Adolf Hitler’s Nazis.

Berlin has in recent years started returning looted objects to African countries which it occupied in the early 20th century — Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Namibia and Cameroon.

“It’s long overdue,” said Ndikung.

He was born in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, into an anglophone family.

The country is majority francophone but also home to an anglophone minority and has faced deadly unrest in English-speaking areas, where armed insurgents are fighting to establish an independent homeland.

One of his dreams is to open a museum in Cameroon “bringing together historical and contemporary objects” from different countries, he said.

He would love to locate it in Bamenda, the capital of Cameroon’s restive Northwest region.

“But there is a war in Bamenda, so I can’t,” he says.

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