Ixmucané Aguilar: The Gun of Null Vier. Even Friday’s Sun Sets

About the book

Genocide in Namibia is an especially sensitive matter—its history has at times been ignored, underestimated, or even denied outright. In the book-as-documentary Even Friday’s Sun Sets – The Gun of Null Vier, visual artist Ixmucané Aguilar engages in a long-term and collective process with the Nama and OvaHerero people, who vividly recall memories and rituals of mourning caused by the loss of life and land during Imperial Germany’s colonization. This publication presents a multilayered portrait of the genocide in Namibia, featuring testimonies, ancestral narratives of oral history, chants and mourning rituals shared by OvaHerero and Nama people in present-day Namibia. It features contributions by human rights attorney Wolfgang Kaleck and the curator of the work Tristan Pranyko, along with poetry by artists Nesindano Khoes Namise and Prince Kamaazengi Marenga.

About the programm

In the significant occasion of 120 years of the genocide, for the book launch at HKW – Haus der Kulturen der Welt, we will have the privilege of hosting a Namibian delegation, including figures as Sima Luipert and Dr. Ellison Tjirera, esteemed advocates for human rights and justice in present-day Namibia. Their insights, will provide a powerful perspective on the ongoing struggles for recognition and reparations.
Additionally, Wolfgang Kaleck, human rights attorney and founder of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), brings his expertise in the international law of justice for victims of human rights violations. Artists Nesindano Khoes Namise and Prince Kamaazengi Marenga will contribute their poetic and auditory practices, which navigates the different textures of the story by merging them with combinations of sound and word play.

Program outline

August 17, 2024

• 4.00 – 4.15 pm
  Opening remarks by Wolfgang Kaleck (ECCHR),
  introducing the topic of the German genocide in Namibia in the context of international law.
• 4.15 – 4.30 pm
  Ixmucané Aguilar, documentary visual artist, on the book as a political and historical document.
• 4.30 – 5.30 pm
  Panel Discussion featuring:
  Dr. Ellison Tjirera, PhD in Sociology, setting the context on contemporary political and social aspects related to the Namibian genocide and its connection to Germany.
  Sima Luipert, Human Rights Defender, sharing her insights and experiences, offering an account of the genocide and its trans-generational impact.
  Prince Kamaazengi Marenga, Poem-tree Farmer/Performer Artist and Activist, concluding the panel discussion with a performance that blends Otjiherero praise singing and chanting, resonating with the moment when the Namibian skulls were returned.
• 5.30 – 6.00 pm
  Performance
  Performance poet and activist, Nesindano “Khoes” Namises, offers a performance in vocal gestures and movement.

The discussions in this presentation introduce the book and the various layers of the struggle for genocide recognition, including how oral narratives serve here as a counter-narrative. This offers a deeper context on historical memory and challenges the colonial structural racism that upholds the dominance of a singular historical narrative—written and perpetuated by the perpetrators. This book launch is more than a cultural presentation; it is a forum for engagement and commemoration of the struggle and resilience of the Nama and OvaHerero people. Parallel to this, we will be displaying the book for the audience and offering the book at Archive souq bookstore.