Page - 175 - in Mobile Culture Studies - The Journal, Volume 4/2018

Mobile Culture Studies. The Journal 4 2o18 Charlotte Bank | Remaking a World 175 ences that just like Dresden with its landmark church had been reduced to rubble during World War II, so Syrian towns and cities were now being destroyed. At the same time, he wanted to add an element of hope, that Syrian towns and cities would be rebuild and allowed to flourish, just like the city of Dresden and other German cities that were destroyed in the war.9 For visitors to the work, the massive impression made by three upright standing busses cre- ated an uncanny and disturbing sensation. As a first reaction, the busses appear threatening as they loom tall over the humans facing them or moving around them. But in Aleppo, a similar device had served as protection, by creating a safe space within which to move. The overwhelm- ing size of the busses thereby echo the enormity of the violence they offered protection from. By linking three experiences from different periods and locations, i.e. the historical destruction of Dresden, the recent destruction of Aleppo and the present art work as experienced by the visitors, the work had all the potential to engender meaningful discussions. Through its juxta- position of the Frauenkirche, the very symbol of Dresden’s rebuilding with an iconic image of the destruction of Syria’s cities and civic life, the work could have created connections between the local commemoration culture in Dresden, in which the trauma of the city’s destruction in the final months of World War II occupies a major place and the contemporary trauma of Syr- ia’s destruction, that the refugee community is carrying with them and thereby create a more welcoming climate for the refugees.10 However, this opportunity was largely lost due to violent demonstrations by right-wing protestors at the inauguration of the work. Through their shrill protests, a small group of hostile people managed to entirely hijack the event, at least at the time of its inauguration, and thereby foreclose any meaningful discussion of the sense of com- memoration across history and how this might foster understanding between unrelated groups of people. However, the work and the controversy surrounding it led to wide press coverage, especially on the occasion of its restaging in Berlin in November 2017 and made it to one of the most publicized art works of that year.11 As this example shows, balancing expectations from different audiences can easily prove particularly challenging, especially for artists working in the public space with its high level of diversity in terms of audiences and opinions. Giving space to the articulation of traumatic, or at least disturbing and troubling memo- ries was a major concern for another artist, Iman Hasbani. Her immersive installation, Here, There, and Other Places (2017)12 revolved around a collection of oral accounts by young Syrian women, now living in Berlin. Over the course of three months the artist conducted work- shop-like sessions with the women, during which they told and recorded their experiences of flight and exile, of loss and of hope. The duration of the project and the informal character of 9 Halbouni [2017], <https://www.manaf-halbouni.com/work/monument> [accessed 10th June 2018]. 10 The literature on the bombing of Dresden in February 1945 is abundant. For a discussion of commemoration discourse surrounding the firebombing of Dresden, see e.g. Hoelscher 2012, for a discussion of the controversies surrounding the event, see e.g. Biddle 2008. 11 See e.g. Trlling, Benjamin. 2017. ‘Skulptur „Monument“ in Berlin: Kontroverse erwünscht’, taz 10.11. 2017, <http://www.taz.de/!5461717>; must read Peitz, Christiane. 2017. ‘Krieg und Kunst Aleppo in Berlin’, Der Tagesspiegel 9.11. 2017 https://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/krieg-und-kunst-aleppo-in-berlin/20564422.html; Quinn, Annalisa. 2017. ‘A monument to Syria’s civil war Is erected in Berlin’, New York Times, 13.11. 2017 <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/13/arts/design/berlin-monument-syria-manaf-halbouni.html>, all accessed 10th June 2018. 12 Presented in March 2017 at Art-Lab Berlin im iPhonedoctor in collaboration with Shubbak Festival, London, <https://artlabberlin.wordpress.com/2017/03/09/here-there-and-other-places-2> [accessed 10th June 2018]