LB°13 — Artists
ARKIV
Steffen Köhn & Paola Calvo (b. (f. 1980, Germany and 1981, Venezuela), is an artist duo based in Germany.
On March 31st 2011 the small island of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean officially received its status as the 101st department of France. Since that day, the European Union has had a new external border that separates Mayotte from Anjouan, its African sister-island belonging to the Union of the Comoros. For a long time both islands were part of the French Colonial Empire. In the wake of the African decolonization movement of the 1970s, referendums were organized on both islands. While Anjouan declared its independence, an overwhelming majority of the Mayotte population decided that the island should stay as a part of France. Since then, Mayotte profits from investments by France into its infrastructure, education and health system, while Anjouan looks back on a history full of coups d’états, political turmoil and economic depression. As a result, many Anjouanais try to reach their neighbouring island with small motorboats, so called Kwassas, in clandestine night-time crossings. With this video installation we want to describe the post-colonial space that originates from this complex political situation.
Steffen Köhn was born in Kirchheimbolanden in Germany. He has been studying film directing at the German Film and Television Academy since 2006. He is currently working on his PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) in anthropology on the politics of images of migration.
Paola Calvo was born in Caracas in Venezuela. She studied communication sciences at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid and has been studying cinematography at the German Film and Television Academy since 2006.
Work
A Tale of Two Islands, 2-channel installation
Location
Luleå
