Opening up to new beliefs and possibilities: notes on the exhibition by Atis Rezistans at the

St. Kunigundis Church in Kassel as part of documenta 15.

It is important to note that the report is based on the impact this exhibition had on me, as on
someone who did not visit it in person.

Authors: Atis Rezistans/ Ghetto Biennale

Among the works presented at the 15th edition of documenta biennale in Kasel,
Germany, there was an exhibition within a Christian church of St. Kunigundis featuring
works from the Atis Rezistans (a Haitian artistic collective founded by André Eugène)
highlighting the collaborations they have achieved through 12 years of organising the Ghetto
Biennale. The exhibition included permanent installations as well as performances, films and
live discussions and debates. Thematically the presented works aimed to highlight the
importance of the Haitian Revolution, and the lessons that visitors from all over the world
may take from learning more about the persistent and resilient Haitian culture. Additionally,
the ideas reflected on the notion of globally marginalised art on the possibility of forming
collaborative practices that have the potential to enrich and inform culture.

While reading about works from the artistic collective, one is directly drawn to learn
more about Haiti and Haitian culture. Haiti is a country located on the western part of
Hispaniola, it is bordered by the Dominican Republic on the east part of the island, and on the
west by Cuba and Jamaica. Although the written history of Haiti starts with genocide and
continues towards with present with chatpers of violence, destruction, disruption and
manipulation, the country is today known to many as the homeland of Vodou, and as a failing
economy which is additionally threatened by natural disasters (Schimmer, year unknown).
Atis Rezistans members are known for their creative usage of available (often discarded)
materials, technical self-mastery, references to African motives, Vudou iconography as well
as a post-dystopian sense of an uprising, imbued with the idea of a life that survives against
all odds. The authorts themselve state that this complex and layered history of their homeland
presented in a contemporary through the starting idea that:
 “...the diffusion and transmission of Haitian history uses the drums, songs,
dances and possessive ritual of the Vodou religion and the collective
melodies and rhythms of Rara bands. Haitian history flows through the
words and poems of its great literary tradition and the unique visions of
its painters and flag makers. Haitian culture, history and spiritual beliefs
is also replayed through the incredible work of Atis Rezistans.”

Lumbung and resistance

The interior of the St. Kunigundis Church in Kassel was inhabited by seven Eugène's
sculptures, distinctively made out of discarded objects including metal, glass, pharmaceutical
waste, fabric, electronic waste and wood. Eugène's oeuvre may be recognized through the
use of discarded materials, as well as expressive and intense references to Vudu imagery.
Although made of discarded materials, whose life-cycle evolves from production to
abandonment travels in a what would formerly be quoted as west to east route, but is maybe
better described as from the coloniser to the land of the colonised. Eugène's works are
recognizable by their raw energy and vitality, as if the life force of the materials, formerly
denied and discarded, has re-emerged intact through the artist's intervention. Apart from
Eugène's sculptures in the main nave, there were four works by Evel Romain which resemble
a more clear association with traditional African totemic sculptures. Four sculptural works by
Katelyne Alexis also inhabit the nave, and create a haunting effect which may originate from
their materials being savaged from the rubles of the 2010 earthquake. Finally, there are three
sculptural works by Jean Claude Saintilus which exhibit powerful mystical connotations,
blurring the lines between the reverence for relics in a church setting and Vodou symbolism.
The sculptures are almost veiled in layers of fabric, which differs them from the explicit and
expressive sculptures in the nave. Not only is the number of Saintilus' sculptures related to
the idea of the Holy Trinity, but they are positioned such that the horizontal one is near the
altar place, while the seated and standing ones are placed in the apse, reminiscing of the
Virgin Mother and the Archangel Gabriel.

The sculptures displayed a vibrant vital energy, with expressive features, erotic elements
and iconographic references from Christian religious imagery (including the postures, poses,
and halos). The sculptures are in scale similar to the height of an average person, and along
with their distribution across the main nave, they establish their presence not only in the
church as objects but as attendants (as church artefacts are traditionally not distributed with
the nave, but are strategically placed to communicate and actualise the religious rites).
Despite being made out of discarded materials, the sculptures radiate with resistance,
presence and inquiry. The skulls on some sculptures gaze directly at the visitors presenting
them with the question - who decides what will become trash? And how is it decided where
the materials will go after they lose their purpose and become useless? These discarded
materials now re-emerge not as cadaverous, but rather as vibrant apparitions re-claiming their
vital energy. The works seem radiant with a material autonomy that surpasses the predictable
usage-cycle and haunts the viewers in the holy space which blurs the lines between life and
death.
One can not help, but see not only the historically and geographically imposed situational
hardships of Haiti reflected through the material presence of the sculptures, as well as the
defiance of Haitian society reflected through these works. These sculptures reflect a power of
artistic creativity to survive countless dysfunctional governmental systems as well as the
contemporary presence of violence within Haitian society. Lumbung philosophy of
documenta 15 is present here as the will to thrive from a collective starting point, to
acknowledge the disadvantage but to resist through it, towards progress.

Locating inherited responsibility

Among the presented works which referenced a contemporary reinterpretation, or even
re-enactment of the racialized history of Haiti, was a series of photographs by Leah Gordon
titled Caste Portraits where she re-enacted the system of grading people by their skin colour
through nine stages from Black (Noir) to White (Blanche). At one end of the scale is Gordon
herself, and for the otheur s her partner Andre Eugène, questions her own inherited
responsibility within this system. This work deserves a short, but important note as I believe
many people, such as myself as a person not from a colonising country, have experienced a
certain level of ease in distancing from histories of colonised and oppressed people. This
work connects the historical responsibility of many to the contemporary responsibility of
everyone by posing the question what can be done now.

From imposed medicines to traditional healing and faith

Since the church is seen in Christian religions as a point of connection between the
Divine and the Human, it is sacred ground where many forms of healing and enlightenment
are said to take place. Interestingly, this exhibition featured works which relate to healing and
faith, such as four mobile pharmacies by the artistic duo Lafleur & Bogaert, which present
mobile pharmacies common in Haiti which function as kiosks of knockoff medication which
is sold on sun-exposed pillars. This modern occurrence in Haiti reflects centuries of different
forms of illnesses which have not only weakened the island's population, but have demonised
its traditional healing practices and knowledge systems. Presenting a work that reflects such a
message in the church setting is a poignant indicator of the connection between the power of
the Christian institution and the desolation of nations such as Haiti. Especially if it is thought
that countless church furnishings were financed by the same individuals owning plantations
and people in colonies. Additionally there were works which introduced spells, amulets,
ritual tools, talismans, and alchemical formulations, such as instakations by L, presenting a
different form of sacred objects and spiritual presence.
This exhibition is especially interesting as an insight into the possibilities of art and
curating, in facilitating the creation of a space where artists may express their ideas while
intriguing the audience to observe the many different aspects of a narrative that is being
presented at an exhibition. More specifically this exhibition presented Haitian culture,
including Haitian Vodou in a sacred space of the Christian church.
In the Western world, Vodou is often viewed as morbid, aggressive and unnatural1
magical practice rather than a religious practice (Cherelus, 2019), partially because of the
inherited colonising attitudes, and additionally because of the historical developments during
the 20th century where Haitian governments utilised Vodou as a method of mass
manipulation. It is important to recognize that Haitian Vodou is a religion that emerged out
of institutional slavery. It reflects resilience and perseverance in offering a community solace,
a sense of divine intervention and hope, same as other religions. By presenting works which
invite the audience to not only view but experience the culture of Haitian Vodou, Artis
Rezistans established an opportunity for dialogue and for finding commonalities between two
ideologies which have been problematically connected throughout history. Finally the
performance JANN PASE’L PASE. transformed the church interior into a collective
collaborative performance which started as a runway and afterwards encouraged people to
move freely, dance and allow themselves to cross Western behavioural norms, which as a
performance reflected the Fet Gede, a Haitian Vodou celebration in which similar behaviour

1
Which is an interesting concept in itself, known from coloniser nations to colonised ones, creating the divide
between us and them, here and there, now and then, and justifying it through the most basic concept of natural
and unnatural, normative and mutant
honours the Gods and their way of life before codes of conduct were established (Cherelus,
2019).

Conclusion

Although by giving, providing or lending this sacred space to Haitian artists, there is
still undoubtedly an echo of hierarchy, it is my opinion that this exhibition is a promising step
towards better cross-cultural experience, and navigating troubled histories by locating
common aspects in the present which may create a base of future respect. However, as the
Haitian artists have themselves taken over the space and were able through the idea of
lumbung to create an immersive experience which is faithful to their cultural ideas, which
may cause disease to the foreign visitors. The presented works reflect layers of Haitian
culture, highlighting undeniable historical suffering as well as the culture's ways of
celebration and communal empowerment. Additionally, they not only present a widely
misunderstood part of Haitian culture - Vodou, but the works enable the idea to take space
and be presented in its complete spiritual autonomy, creating a voice for the culture, and not
simplifying it down to the theme/inspiration/departure point of artworks. Combining through
experience the Haitian beliefs that have sustained the people through centuries of oppression
with a Christian holy space which signifies a refuge, I believe that the curators were
successful in highlighting common points in two seemingly completely different topics and
presenting a bridge for cross-cultural communication through art.
In contemporary curating, I believe that such exhibitions are important, and they will
undoubtedly cause shock and disagreement but that is a part of disrupting the status quo. In
such collaborative efforts, there may be a need for two types of curation working in synergy,
the first being to enable artist from historically oppressed societies to present their culture
authentically and unapologetically in countries which were colonising forces, and the second
to establish an environment in which those messages may be seen and recognized by the local
audience. For such an endeavour to be successful, it seems that active dialogue is a crucial
starting point in encouraging the understanding of other cultures, identities and beliefs.
A view towards the apse with three works by Jean Claude Saintilus
Image source: https://theartslug.com/2022/09/19/atis-rezistans-documenta-15/

A view towards the southern wall, south-eastern corner of the nave featuring works by Andre
Eugène and Katelyne Alexis. Image source
https://amlatina.contemporaryand.com/editorial/installation-view-atis-rezistans-ghetto-bienna
le/
Resources which I based my review upon, as someone who did not visit the exhibition.

On the exhibition
https://amlatina.contemporaryand.com/editorial/installation-view-atis-rezistans-ghetto-bienna
le/ photos of the exhibition
https://theartslug.com/2022/09/19/atis-rezistans-documenta-15/ photos of the exhibition
https://www.frieze.com/article/editors-picks-documenta-15 photos of the exhibition
https://universes.art/en/documenta/2022/censorship-at-documenta-fifteen photos of the
exhibition
https://documenta-fifteen.de/en/venues/st-kunigundis/ photos of the exhibition
https://documenta-fifteen.de/ausstellungsorte/st-kunigundis/ photos of the exhibition
https://ghettobiennale.org/files/SINGLEARGBCATALOGUE.pdf an excerpt from the
documenta 15 catalogue, featuring photographs and descriptions of the presented works of
the Atis Rezistans. Authors: Atis Rezistans, publication date 2022 (probably)

On the artists
https://curatorsintl.org/about/collaborators/7291-andre-eugene short bio from Eugène from
the Independent Curators International, a non-profit organisation
https://africanah.org/andre-eugene/ it is mentioned that the article (published in 2015)
features an interview with Eugène by Christopher Garland (2013/2014)
http://www.atis-rezistans.com/eugene.php Bio of Eugène from the Atis Rezistans webpage

On Haitian culture
Cherelus, G, (2019, Nov. 21), Voodoo Is Part of Us: Inside a religious Haitian soiree in
Brooklyn. New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/21/nyregion/fetgede-voodoo-haiti.html
https://gsp.yale.edu/case-studies/colonial-genocides-project/hispaniola the author is
mentioned as ,Russell Schimmer, GSP, Yale University