In Protektorat, the Italian artist Silvia Rosi explores her Togolese roots and examines communication and sign systems within colonial and hegemonic power structures.
Image gallery
ABC – VLISCO © Silvia Rosi
Based on archival material from the National Archives of Togo, she draws attention to the systematic spread of Western systems of order during the colonial period, which took place under the occupation of the German Reich and later by British and French forces.
The narrative in Protektorat takes place on various visual and sensory levels:
In a combination of still and moving images with sound, Rosi conveys how local languages, traditions and image cultures were overwritten or suppressed during colonial rule. She always appears as the central protagonist in her works, interweaving her personal experience with the collective narrative, giving the historical themes an intimate, personal dimension.
