Sabina Kaluza. Art and (post)memory

THE PATH TO FREEDOM
 

Sabina Kaluza describes herself as a “German-Polish concept artist”. She was born in Bytom (Beuthen) in Upper Silesia in 1967. From a very early age, Catholicism played an important role in her life, making her feel repressed as a woman and sparking a need in her to break through the existing patriarchal structures. In 1987, she fled to Germany when she no longer felt safe in the socialist People’s Republic of Poland. In the years that followed, she studied under Mara Mattuschka, Lienhard von Monkiewitsch and John Armleder at the University of Fine Arts (Hochschule für Bildende Künste) in Braunschweig.

 

THE GATEWAY TO REMEMBRANCE
 

Kaluza’s work is characterised by two main motifs: a feminist perspective on the position of women in current society and the family trauma arising from the experiences endured by her grandfather during the war and his subsequent death. Her works are deeply resonant of her own experiences – of growing up in a prudish, Catholic-conservative environment in which all forms of physicality were frowned upon. She is, therefore, a woman and an artist who is constantly shifting back and forth between her own memory and postmemory. Her works combine current themes with issues relating to the past, portraying her dramatic family story as a precondition for the present. To examine her work in greater detail, let us take a look at “schleuse” (“sluice”), produced in 2006 (Fig. 1 . ), which can be regarded as a symbolic gate to the inner world of the artist as well as to our own consciousness. 

 

POSTMEMORY
 

As a member of the postmemorial generation, Sabina Kaluza points to suppressed memories that are connected to the difficult experiences endured in the past by her parents and especially her grandparents. Marianne Hirsch, who coined the term “postmemory”, clearly links this type of memory with the impact of photographs as bearers of family history: “I see postmemory as being distinguished from memory by generational distance and from history by deep personal connection. Postmemory is a powerful and very particular form of memory precisely because its connection to its object or source is mediated not through recollection but through imaginative investment and creation. [...] Postmemory characterizes the experience of those who grow up dominated by narratives that preceded their birth, whose own belated stories are superseded by the stories of the previous generation shaped by traumatic events that can be neither understood nor recreated.”[1] In Kaluza’s case, however, these were not only photographs, but also letters that her grandfather had written during the war. These letters were shown and read aloud to her by her grandmother as a kind of relic.

One reminiscence of these memories and the impact made on Kaluza by her family’s story is her installation “JEDEM DAS SEINE, LEO!” (“TO EACH HIS OWN; LEO!”) (Fig. 2 . ), which confronts the viewer with the various prisoner numbers assigned to her deceased grandfather (Fig. 3 . ). After being arrested by the Gestapo, he was forced to suffer unimaginable horrors on his journey of suffering from one concentration camp to another: from 1939–1940 in “Schutzhaft” (“protective custody”) in Beuthen, from 1940–1941 in Sachsenhausen concentration camp, from 1941–1942 in Neuengamme concentration camp, in 1942 in Arbeitsdorf concentration camp near Wolfsburg, and finally, from 1942, in Buchenwald concentration camp, where he died from tuberculosis two days after the camp was liberated.

 

POSTMEMORY AND THE REALISATION OF THE PAST IN THE PRESENT
 

As Hans Belting has established, our ancestors hand down certain images to us. Through the dynamic process of being passed on, these images are repeatedly modified, forgotten, newly discovered and re-interpreted, “[…] because images can only be answers for a certain length of time; after that, they no longer suffice for the questions of the next generations.”[2] These are just the kind of questions being asked by Kaluza, who represents one of these generations. In her installation “JEDEM DAS SEINE, LEO!”, she invites us to look through a lens produced by the Carl Zeiss company (Fig. 4 . ) into the interior of a transparent cube containing the prisoner numbers of her grandfather. Sitting down in front of the work and looking through the magnifying glass, we become immersed in the artist’s family history, which becomes a universal story, a representation of countless thousands of fates similar to that of her grandfather. The numbers pulse in front of our eyes, enlarged by the lens made by a company that used forced labourers during the war years. In this way, the artist creates a paradox: an optical tool created by Zeiss, a company which would be only too happy to obscure its dubious past, points to the victims of the National Socialist regime and to the company itself as a participant in a criminal system. In addition, Kaluza has drilled the names of concentration camps into an outer wall of the installation (Fig. 5 . ) in a particular form of Braille, so that people with impaired vision can also read them. However, their presence is also important for viewers who are able to see, who look through the lens and are able to feel the indentations at the same time, thus enabling them to access and interpret the installation through their sense of touch. As the French art historian Georges Didi-Huberman once wrote: “Every past is definitively anachronistic – it is able to exist and be formed solely through the figures that we assign to it; it therefore exists only in the operations of the ‘presence of memory’, a presence that has the wondrous, but also dangerous power of realisation and subsequent processing and portrayal.” As a “figure from the past”,[3] Kaluza’s installation forges a relationship between ourselves and her grandfather and so many others who suffered a similar fate. Two old jute sacks (Fig. 6 . ) from her grandfather’s estate are also included in the installation. They exude a dusty smell; their soft surface contrasts strongly with the rusty metal frame, thus reinforcing the impression of the transient nature and fragility of life. By consciously using the different qualities of these materials, Kaluza therefore not only activates postmemory, but also recreates the past, setting it clearly in relationship with the here and now. In so doing, she not only brings particularly personal aspects to the fore, but also forges a connection with topics relating to German-Polish history that remain a sensitive issue today.

As an artist who chooses to meet the challenge of postmemory, Kaluza has also produced the installation “D-DAY HEERESGRUPPE MIT FRANZ” (“D-DAY ARMY GROUP WITH FRANZ”) (Figs. 7 . , 8 . ), which can be regarded as a formal equivalent to “JEDEM DAS SEINE, LEO!”. This time, however, she suspends oval metal platelets on strings within a steel frame. Some of these platelets pile up on the floor within the steel frame (Fig. 9 . ). When we move around the installation, the platelets begin to move gently, producing an almost inaudible sound and creating the impression of sounds from times long past permeating through to us here in the present. “D-Day” refers to 6 June 1944, the day on which Allied troops from the US, Britain, Canada, and France landed in Normandy and opened up a second front against the Third Reich. Could it be that Kaluza is using the number of metal platelets, which represent the individual soldiers’ identity tags, to make us aware of just how many died during the fighting that occurred then? (Fig. 10 . ) And who is Franz, anyway? He is the artist’s grandfather, whose numbers were 3./A.R., 162 and – 174 – in the line below on the identity tag (Fig. 11 . ). Postmemory works in just the same way, with its wonderful ability to recreate the past and to ask questions about times long gone from today’s perspective.

 

THE FEMALE MEMORY
 

“If I can’t dance, then that’s not my revolution.” These words have been ascribed to Emma Goldman, an early 20th century anarchist, feminist political activist and writer. However, they could just as easily serve as a motto for Sabina Kaluza’s work. In “impetus” (Figs. 12.1–12 . ), we see a bird’s eye view of a dancing woman. The view from above creates an even more dynamic impression of the silhouette and gestures of the dancer than if we were to stand opposite her at eye level. Here, Kaluza confronts us with a ritual that stands for freedom, the joy of living and vitality, as well as for the detachment from the passive roles in society that are so often assigned to women. We can only imagine the music to which the figure is dancing, yet our mirror neurons cause the dancer and her poses to reverberate strongly in our bodies. According to the US researcher Barbara Montero[4], when other people dance, it has an impact on us, even when we ourselves remain stationary: their dance movements “resonate” in our bodies and generate not only a visual, but also a kinaesthetic response. As soon as we feel this “resonance”, we begin to interpret the movements and question the meaning of the individual gestures. In the case of Sabina Kaluza’s twelve-part image cycle “impetus”, these movements and gestures highlight dance as a search for a release from the roles in society that are traditionally attributed to women.

 

RITUAL AND UNITY
 

A similar concept can be seen in “einheit” (“unity”) (Figs. 13 . , 18 . ). It also shows a bird’s eye view of a woman, this time in a circular format, who appears to be immersed in her dance like a dervish in a trance. While we can look at her face, we are unable to connect with her, since she is fully absorbed with her inner world, as is shown by her closed eyes and her facial expression, in which we see ecstasy, self-reflection and fulfilment all at the same time. The dancer is at one with herself, her gestures and the world as a whole. Everything around her seems to be turning, and her figure creates the impression that she is able to defy gravity. She is reminiscent of the light-footed, multi-armed goddess Kali, who is able to kill demons with each one of her many arms (Fig. 14 . ).

By contrast, the installation “reigen” (“roundelay”) (Figs. 15 . , 16 . ) shows a woman’s bare feet, which – as with a ballerina – are dancing on the tips of their toes. The glass panel underneath splits under the pressure of these feet. Centrifugal cracks appear on the surface, which create a highly aesthetic, yet also hazardous ornament. In this way, Kaluza depicts the risk of being injured by “revolution through dance”. However, the dancer does not leave the stage; she remains in place, firmly convinced that women have no choice but to rebel against social precepts and prohibitions, whatever the cost.

 

BODY – TRANSFORMATION – POWER
 

“3,33″” (Figs. 17 . , 18 . ) relates to a period of time that we perceive as the present. It shows a transparent-looking, naked female double figure, whose gestures could also be interpreted as being dance. The figures, which appear almost glass-like, seem to be surrounded by deep water or blue air. They float with disconcerting lightness in a space that cannot be more clearly discerned, creating the impression that they are moving towards us – actively and free of any context. At the point at which the two figures overlap, a vagina-like form is created which evokes the power of femininity. Similar forms can also be seen in an earlier group of photographs by the artist, entitled “sinus animi” (Figs. 19 . , 20.1–10 . ). In these works, Kaluza considers ways of portraying the female body that deviate from an androcentric perspective. The unfocused photographs combine smooth, tender human skin with a typical meadow fauna that simultaneously covers and exposes the body, creating a form of land(scape).

This female body and the smooth skin age, however. This is a process that in time renders women “invisible” and which places them outside the sphere of interest of a society that continues to yearn for eternal youth an unblemished beauty. In her video works (Fig. 27 . )) – “maske” (“mask”) (video 1), “reduktion” (“reduction) (video 2) and “gegen die zeit” (“against time”) (video 3) – the artist uses various ways of questioning the (im)possibility of showing a person’s true face, the act of being reduced to those areas of the body that are desired and considered sexy, as well as the transient nature of beauty and the unremitting progress of time. 

 

SACRUM VS. REVOLT
 

As a woman and an artist, Sabina Kaluza carries within her not only the memory of her oppressive, strict Catholic upbringing, in which anything that related to the female body and female sexuality was considered to be sinful and an expression of animal temptation, but also the consequences of growing up in an androcentric society, which glorified only the superficial beauty of young women. In order to release her own memory from these patriarchal patterns, the artist does not limit herself to only conjuring up dancing figures and a mild form of revolution through dance, but also recites the Lord’s Prayer with the full involvement of her naked body. In the 15-part group of photographs entitled “PATER NOSTER” (Figs. 21 . , 22.1–15 . ), she translates the words of the famous prayer into sign language, producing each sign in such a way that her own naked body is displayed in the most clearly visible way possible. In Kaluza’s photographs, everything that Catholicism attempts to suppress at all costs and in the most puritanical way possible returns with huge force and becomes a feminist manifesto. 

Through her approach – her ongoing conflict with Catholicism – Kaluza uses her art to combine rebellion against the dogmas of the Catholic faith with questions of transcendence. With this in mind, “OHNE TITEL” (“UNTITLED”) from 2003 (Fig. 23 . ) can be regarded as a type of signature. In it, we see the artist’s handprints, which she created with her own menstrual blood. It is a type of vera ikon – the trace of a presence that is without doubt physical, yet also deeply imbued with spirituality. 

 

HISTORY AND IDENTITY
 

In “ein-hacken” (“pecking in”) from 2005, the artist recently added two female figures: Mary Magdalene and Maya (Figs. 24 . , 18 . ). She describes this concept as follows: “These figures are a part of my creative process over the course of many years, in which I repeatedly returned to questions of spirituality, remembrance and identity. I can feel a strong need to explore questions surrounding transcendence and the state of humanity in the context of global history. When I look back on my life, I realise that these themes never left me, but rather developed further alongside me; that ultimately, they have become the core of my creative work. My goal is to find traces of the past in the present and to give them new forms. Mary Magdalene and Maya symbolise the journey, the search, the silent witness. Both unite spiritual and personal planes, which are closely interwoven with my own experience and my thoughts.” (Email to the author, 1/4/2025; English rendition of the German translation).

 

EMBODIED MEMORY – ART AS A MEDIUM OF POSTMEMORY
 

The German-Polish concept artist Sabina Kaluza is therefore dedicated on the one hand to her own, individual memory, in which the fact of being a woman, emancipation and feminism play important roles. On the other hand, however, she also focuses on postmemory by exploring questions anchored in the traumatic microhistory of her family against the backdrop of the macrohistory of the Second World War. She lives and works in times of constant change, as is expressed in one of her latest works, “die WELT steht KOPF” (“the WORLD is UPSIDE DOWN”) (Fig. 25 . ). Here, she draws on different media, focusing mainly on photography, but also using installation and film. The materials that she chooses – rusty metal, jute, a lens – are symbolic and make a deep impression on our senses. This is reflected, for example, in the group exhibition “WAR und ist KRIEG” (“There WAS and is WAR”), on the premises of the Lower Saxony federal state representation in Berlin in the spring of 2025, which included “JEDEM DAS SEINE, LEO!” and “D-DAY HEERESGRUPPE MIT FRANZ” (Fig. 26 . ). The language of art used by Sabina Kaluza is a deeply sensual one. This arises from the nature of (post)memory, which exists not only in image form, but is frequently also expressed to a high degree in the body. 

 

Marta Smolińska, June 2025

 

The artist on her life:

 

INTRODUCTION – ARTISTIC AND PERSONAL IDENTITY

“The story of my life begins where two cultures, two languages and two identities meet. I was born in Bytom, in Upper Silesia, in 1967, into a family in which German and Polish fates were closely intertwined. My mother was German, my father was Polish, and among our forefathers, there was both a Wehrmacht soldier and a Polish resistance fighter.
This complex past had a significant impact on my sensitivity and my way of looking at the world. I grew up in communist Poland and experienced at first hand the meaning of control, a deficit of goods and martial law. This made me even more aware of how history impacts our identity. In my search for freedom and my own path, my husband and I decided to flee to West Germany in 1987.”

HISTORY COMES FULL CIRCLE – FRIEDLAND AS SYMBOL

“Our first stop in Germany was the Friedland transit camp. After he returned from a US prisoner of war camp in 1946, my German grandfather also had to register there as a former prisoner of war. 41 years later, there I was, standing in exactly the same place, as though history had come full circle. Since 2016, our flight has been the subject of a permanent exhibition in the Friedland Museum.”

EDUCATION AND ARTISTIC DEVELOPMENT

“I was able to continue my education in my new home thanks to a stipend from the Otto Benecke Stiftung e.V. foundation. After taking a break for several years to look after my baby, I was able to enrol at the University of Fine Arts in Braunschweig (Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig), and was then given the honour of perfecting my skills in the field of free art in the masterclass run by Prof. John Armleder. I already began developing my own artistic language of form while I was a student, and still do so today as a concept artist, with installations, performances, film and experimental photography.”

MEMORY AND HISTORY IN MY ART

“In my work, I connect personal experiences with history and collective memory. My film ‘DER ERSTE TAG’ (‘THE FIRST DAY’) tells the story of flight from Poland and crossing the border during the communist era. ‘PATER NOSTER’ is an artistic interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer, which I showed in Israel. ‘SINE NOMINIBUS’ is a homage to my grandfather and to all those who have faded away without trace or name and whom no-one remembers any more. The work was created as a replacement for two missing paintings which once decorated the baroque high altar in the church of St. Peter in Braunschweig, which was built in 1649 in the auricular style by Hermann Scheller.”

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT

“In addition to working as an artist, I have also been involved in the social and cultural fields for years now. I have already performed a number of different functions; I have been chairwoman of the BBK Braunschweig, a member of the jury for the Lower Saxony integration prize, president of the KreativRegion association, and others.”

ART IN TIMES OF CRISIS

“During the Covid-19 pandemic, at a time when the role of artists was particularly called into question, I received a stipend in the mentoring programme of the Federal Academy for Cultural Education in Wolfenbüttel (Bundesakademie für Kulturelle Bildung Wolfenbüttel). Thanks to this support, I was able not only to continue with my work as an artist, but also to deepen it, by examining the value of art in times of global crises.”

WAR AND MEMORY

“Following the outbreak of war in Ukraine, my works ‘JEDEM DAS SEINE, LEO!’ and “D-DAY HEERESGRUPPE MIT FRANZ’ attracted a great deal of attention and were included in a group exhibition that explores in depth the complex relationships between memory, guilt and reconciliation. The exhibition shows how art can open up new perspectives on historical events. Within this framework, my work was shown in the Bergen-Belsen memorial site, the Buchenwald memorial site, the Lower Saxony representation building in Berlin, and elsewhere.”

RETURN TO FRIEDLAND – AN ARTISTIC EXAMINATION OF THE PAST

“Many years later, I returned to Friedland, this time as an artist, in order to explore the past, intergenerational history and my own life experiences through my work. In 2026, my autobiographical installation ‘ZWISCHEN ZEITEN’ (‘BETWEEN TIMES’) will be included in the permanent exhibition in the new annexe of the Friedland Museum. It questions the extent to which the past impacts our present and our shared future.”

SPACE FOR LIVING AND CREATING

“In Braunschweig, I find the space for living and creating that gives my art meaning.”

 

Artist’s website:
www.sabina-kaluza.de