Tirailleurs: Trials and Tribulations at HKW, Berlin
March 21, 2026 - June 14, 2026
Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin
Pélagie Gbaguidi describes herself as a contemporary "griotte", recontextualizing forgotten histories in the present and preserving collective knowledge. Through her paintings, drawings, texts, and installations, she confronts colonial history with visual narratives that reconstruct suppressed memories. Her work exposes historical fractures and colonial continuities, creating spaces of reappropiration. A central element of her artistic practice is the use of repurposed everyday objects and materials, which embody individual and collective experiences and serve as vessels of knowledge and history. The installation The Architecture of Courage (2026) uses handwoven fabrics, the "pagne tissé", traditionally used in clothing in Senegal, whose patterns and colors carry rich, social, cultural, or spiritual significance. These ceremonial textiles create a connection with the long-overlooked role of the Madame Tirailleur. These women were socially connected to the Tirailleurs as wives, companions, relatives, and in some cases as fellow soldiers. Their lives and labor were fundamental to sustaining the networks of resistance and survival under colonial war conditions. The wooden rods reference the tools of the women warriors of the Kingdom of Dahomey in present-day Benin. Known as the "Mino", these warriors fought on the front lines during the Franco-Dahomean Wars (1890-94), defying gender norms, and becoming symbols of courage, strength and loyalty. With The Architecture of Courage Gbaguidi creates a space of remembrance dedicated to the resilience and solidarity of the women. The collages of fabric and drawings coalesce into visual narratives where life, birth and death intertwine. The organic, fluid structure of the installation suggests that history is an ongoing, dynamic process. To renegotiate its significance for the present, long-suppressed perspectives are recalled through the griotte's practice, beyond the limits of written evidence.
