Archival Interventions – The untold stories of (colonial) wars
In this episode, Ethiopian-American author Maaza Mengiste and Italian artist and photographer Laura Fiorio sit down with ECCHR General Secretary Wolfgang Kaleck. The conversation centers on the colonial history of Italy in Ethiopia. Mengiste talks about the often overlooked role of women in Ethiopia's fight against Italian occupation during World War II, and Italian artist Fiorio talks about her work “My fascist Grandpa.” Both bring their perspectives to contextualize photography and its manifold meaning and ability to hold and tell truths.
#11 Archival Interventions – The untold stories of (colonial) wars
Biographies
Author
Maaza Mengiste
Maaza Mengiste is a novelist, essayist, and photographer. She is the author of the novel, The Shadow King, which was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, and was a 2020 LA Times Book Prize Fiction finalist. Her debut novel, Beneath the Lion’s Gaze, was selected by the* Guardian* as one of the 10 best contemporary African books and named one of the best books of 2010 by Christian Science Monitor, Boston Globe, and other publications.
Photo Credit: © Nina Subin
Photographer
Laura Fiorio
Laura Fiorio is a freelance photographer based in Berlin and Verona. In her artistic practice she deals with urban spaces and the political tension between private and public. Her projects, developed through choral narratives, interact with exhisting archives and materials, questioning the power dynamics embedded in the editing process of images as memories, their instutionalized use and hence their critical and subversive potential.
Photo Credit: © Vittoria Trovato
ECCHR General Secretary
Wolfgang Kaleck
Wolfgang Kaleck founded the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights with other internationally renowned lawyers in Berlin in 2007. As a lawyer, he represents whistleblower Edward Snowden, among others. Kaleck has also published numerous books.