2009, Jeannette Ehlers
Duration: 03:46
Edition: 1/5
Exhibition: 31. May — 06. July 2013
Edition: 1/5
Exhibition: 31. May — 06. July 2013
In the video «Black Magic at the White House», Ehlers is performing a voodoo dance in Marienborg which has a strong connection to the triangular trade. It was built as a summer residence for the Commander Olfert Fischer in 1744, who since sold it to merchant Peter Windt, who also had created a great deal of wealth from the slave and sugar trade, and who even brought slaves with to his home in Denmark. Several others of the period’s trading men have owned and put their stamp on Marienborg, and today it still plays an important role in Denmark, in terms of its position as the official residence of the country’s prime minister. The video is part of the large project ATLANTIC. Jeannette Ehlers, with ATLANTIC, brings focus on a dark chapter in Danish history: its intensive participation in the slave trade and colonialism. Through digitally manipulated photographs she puts in a poetic way reflections on the Danish slave trade.