In July Nicolás Leong and Hans HS Winkler shared the studio in Lichtenberg through virtual cooperation.
Their common interest is primarily focused on the “socialist” traces of the district, which can be seen in everyday life and on the streets, as well as in archives, and which reflect the relationship between East Germany, Cuba and Vietnam.
The largest Vietnamese community in Germany is currently located in Lichtenberg.
“When the GDR became history, the Vietnamese were the largest group of foreigners in the former workers’ and farmers’ state, with around 60,000 people. As early as the mid-1950s, the GDR took in Vietnamese as part of solidarity programmes. However, the peak was only reached with the so-called contract workers at the end of the 1970s. In the GDR, solidarity with the peoples of the world was part of the rationale of the state. (“We in Lichtenberg: Today and in the Future – The Vietnamese Lichtenberg” by Cuong Pham Manh, 27 October 2019)
Originally Nicolás Leong, who lives in Los Angeles, was invited to a residency at the Lichtenberg Studios, which was prevented by Corona and US-European travel restrictions.
In July the studio was used by HS Winkler to start research on his 2021 exhibition project in Cuba, as well as on Vietnam, mainly in archives and museums, with the support of the Lichtenberg Museum and the Academy of Arts.
In an exchange of research results from the Berlin archives and the net, the two artists will develop their projects via e-mail and Face Time. This will be the basis for Nicolás Leong’s stay and site-specific work for Lichtenberg in 2021.
