The 2022 Kiefer Hablitzel | Göhner Kunstpreis was awarded to the Geneva-based artist Camille Kaiser (*1992). The art prize includes a solo exhibition with publication at the Aargauer Kunsthaus.

In the context of the current debate on the restitution of cultural artefacts taken by colonial powers, Camille Kaiser delves into another history of decolonisation—the transfer of numerous public monuments from Algeria to France shortly after the War of Independence. After 1962, bronze statues of Joan of Arc and the Duke of Orléans, weighing several tonnes, sailed across the Mediterranean in the direction of France. At the same time, Camille Kaiser’s grandfather worked in Algeria and wrote to her grandmother regarding the difficulties with shipping personal property from Algiers to Marseille.

Images from a French military archive and the correspondence between Camille Kaiser’s Algerian-Swiss grandparents form the basis of her video installations, texts, as well as print works, in which the artist explores the confrontation and significance of both monumental and every-day objects. They tell a story of colonial entanglements from a personal perspective. Ultimately, the stories intertwine to make room for fiction.