Jeanno Gaussi

Against the background of her own experiences as a migrant, Jeanno Gaussi (*1973 in Kabul) examines issues of cultural identity from multiple perspectives using a variety of media. She gained international recognition in 2012 with her work at documenta 13 in Kassel and Kabul. "Jeanno Gaussi's work," says Burcu Dogramaci in her catalog contribution, "basically feeds on travel, stays (not only) in places known to her from previous visits, and which she might (re-)visit through research, investigations, and her work in progress as well as in situ. She transports stories, works and memories from one place to another, where they are then put into new contexts." Gaussi's works can thus be characterized as a "web", and the two installations created at Schwartzsche Villa in Berlin premiered in 2018 under the titles "For Sitara Hamza" and "No Language". Both address the implications of policy change and decision making on actual biographies. Gaussi's specific starting point are her personal observations of different life histories of refugees from Afghanistan. The book presents the installations, juxtaposes them with works of similar content by the artist, and illuminates in detail the background of their origins.