Carmen Mariscal - Sediments of Memory: Unearthing Histories Beneath the Mexican Embassy in Berlin

Thu, 3 Jul 2025
18:00-21:00
at Kunstverein am Rosa–Luxemburg–Platz

On view
4 Jul-2 Aug 2025

Carmen Mariscal - Sediments of Memory: Unearthing Histories Beneath the Mexican Embassy in Berlin

 
For the first time in Berlin, the work of Mexican artist, researcher, and theatre set designer Carmen Mariscal is being presented. Her interdisciplinary practice explores memories embedded in spaces – from the human body to clothing, architecture, and the city itself.
 
Her current project investigates the layered histories of the site now occupied by the Mexican Embassy in Berlin. Through photography, film, and installation, Mariscal explores the layered histories of the embassy’s current site, uncovering traces of memory, transformation, and diplomacy throughout the 20th century. Her work brings to light forgotten stories that connect Mexico, Germany, the United Kingdom, and others, tracing its transformations throughout the 20th century. In addition the exhibition includes two films from previous site-specific projects in Mexico.
To mark the exhibition, a public talk followed by a walk to the Kunstverein will take place on 2 July at 6pm, hosted by the Mexican Embassy (Klingelhöferstraße 3, 10785 Berlin).
 
Sediments of Memory is part of Spatial Practices in Art and Architecture for Empathetic Exchange (SPACEX), a project supported by the European Union.
 
Simultaneously, the exhibition Pandora's Box - An alternate dramaturgy of the past and the present or for a dystopian world featuring works by William Cody Maherand Signe Mähler, as well as the new display Die Welt wieder verzaubern by Barbara Holub in our Schaufenster, will be opening.
Picture from 1997, from the archive of the Mexican embassy in Germany
Picture from 1997, from the archive of the Mexican embassy in Germany