Titled “Dressing Resistance. Fashion and the Heritage of Mission”, the first of the two special exhibitions at the University of Bonn Global Heritage Lab explores the fashion influences of Christian missionaries on peoples of Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The hegemony of European religion was not promoted by Christian missionaries exclusively through the vehicles of texts and prayers, for even clothing was utilized as a missionary instrument. Traditional clothing was to be discarded and the new faith was to be worn upon one's own body for all the world to see—both in everyday life and on special occasions.
In addition to works by artists from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, the exhibition features the so-called “Baby Doll” costumes from Trinidad and Tobago. Traditionally worn by men during Carnival in Trinidad, the masquerade costume plays with themes of motherhood and femininity. A film by artist Amanda T. McIntyre shown at the exhibition looks at this type of carnival attire through a fictional character called Ma Dolly Brigitta, who is seen walking in a Christian cemetery wearing an elaborate lace costume, contrasting morbidity against vitality. The work is part of the artist's critical commentary on the legacy of missionary colonialism and slavery that is still observable to this day. Other works shown are illustrative of displacement of the original culture and of blending with Christian influences, such as Afro-Brazilian religious jewelry of the Candomblé faith, in which West African deities and Catholic saints are both worshiped. Enslaved women also used such jewelry to purchase freedom for themselves and others.
The exhibition represents the fruit of an international conference held at the Global Heritage Lab which was jointly organized by researchers of the University of Bonn and the University of Namibia. Recordings of speeches made at the conference can be heard at audio and film stations at the exhibition. Additionally, both adults and children can work a large loom provided by Peruvian-German artist Sofía Magdits Espinoza to participate in the creation of a woven art work, and can also learn how to make Namibian dolls. The exhibition thus renders body, fashion, and identity as sensually tangible dimensions, thereby shifting the paradigm of exclusive access to knowledge via text-based research sources.
Fabrics of Dependency
Titled “Enmeshed and Entwined - Fabrics of Dependency”, the second exhibition, shown in parallel, is the material manifestation of a digital exhibition by the same name created by the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS), a Cluster of Excellence, in cooperation with the Bonn Center for Digital Humanities (BCDH). The core exhibition object is a quilt of about six square meters in size upon which various stories and themes are depicted (with QR code links to the corresponding digital content). The themes addressed include social enmeshments and asymmetrical dependencies, as seen for example in the history of indigo production.
The processes required to produce and fashionably decorate colored textiles were so complex that for a long time only a few very wealthy individuals could afford such garments. But this changed as trade became globalized, production techniques of Southeast Asia, like cyanotype printing, being further developed in Europe. In this technique, a mass consisting of gum arabic from Africa and other substances was applied to undyed fabric using wooden stamps to protect it in the dyeing process, keeping it white. The ever-bold and reliable dye indigo thus spread to Europe from the Caribbean starting in the 17th century. The rise of cyanotype printing then led to the emergence of regional clothing traditions that are still around today, such as a dirndl from Bad Aussee displayed as part of the exhibition.
Cooperation with the Bonn Center for Digital Humanities
Three-dimensional augmented-reality models based on copperplate engravings from the 17th century are employed to explain the individual production steps, which in part are rendered tangible through 3D printing. The realities of working on a cotton plantation and in a cyanotype factory are depicted in animated videos. Visitors of the exhibition can also view an informative film sequence on indigo production as part of the cultural heritage of the Haitian people. These elements of the exhibition are the fruit of collaboration with the Bonn Center for Digital Humanities (BCDH) at the University of Bonn.
