Eine leere, weiße Plattform im Flensburger Hafen wird von eine Person in schwarzer Kleidung mit einem Besen geputzt. Im Hintergrund ist die gegenüberliegende Hafenseite und dort liegende Segelboote zu sehen.

Reflecting on monuments – “Anchoring the Void” in Flensburg

Reflectiong on monuments

The installation “Anchoring the void” in Flensburg in the context of decolonial movements on objects in public space

The text “Thinking about Monuments: ‘Anchoring the void’ in Flensburg in the context of decolonial movements on objects in public space” by Inken Carstensen-Egwuom was published in December 2019 as an article in the feminist GeoRundMail on the topic of decolonial geographies. In this article Inken Carstensen-Egwuom deals with the significance of monuments in urban space. On the one hand, there is the dismantling of monuments that honour actors or histories of colonial violence. On the other hand, there is the awareness of gaps in public (mental) thinking. Here, Carstensen-Egwuom reports on and reflects on the installation project “Anchroring the void” by the Theaterwerkstadt Pilkentafel. Finally, Carstensen-Egwuom discusses the object “I Am Queen Mary” by the artists Jeanette Ehlers and La Vaughn Belle in Copenhagen, taking up a decolonial impulse towards art in public space that can be understood as a stimulus and point of reference for Flensburg’s “void”, especially due to Flensburg’s links with Danish colonialism.

The full article can be downloaded as a PDF here. The article is available in English and German language.