At its core is a partly autobiographical, research-based essay film, accompanied by abstract sculpture and installation, examining the effects of colonial power structures alongside questions of identity and belonging.
The project draws on the artist’s experience growing up as an Afro-German in 1990s Germany during the so-called ‘baseball bat years’ – a period marked by pogrom-like riots and targeted attacks against migrants – as well as on the history of the Fula of Futa Jallon, in present-day Guinea-Conakry, and their resistance against French colonial expansion between 1889 and 1896.
After their parents separated, the artist was placed in state custody in 1995, at the age of eight, and grew up in a children’s home. Reconnecting with their father in adulthood, they began researching their ancestry in search of an alternative narrative of identity. Together, they will travel to Futa Jallon to document historical sites, gather oral and written histories, and work with local communities.
Selou Sowe is a German visual artist.
