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Der in H. 1/2023 erschienene Essay führt Gedanken einer in H. 1/2022 des "Palmbaum" erschienene Betrachtung (https://doi.org/10.25643/bauhaus-universitaet.4628) weiter. Im Zentrum stehen dabei die Bemühungen der UNESCO um das immaterielle Kulturerbe.

The most fundamental understating of hybridization methodology takes the form of stable but dynamic notions, accumulated over time in the memory of individuals. Schematized and abstracted, the hybrids representation needs to be reproduced and reused in order to reconstruct and bring back other memories. Reinvented, or reused hybrids can support getting access to social, traditional, religious understanding of nations. In this manner, they take the form of the messenger / the mediator an innate, equivalent to the use of mental places in the art of memory. We remember mythology in order to remember other things. From individual memory perspective, or group collective memory, the act of recollection is assumed to be an individual act, biologically based in the brain, but by definition conditioned by social collectives. Following Halbwachs, this thesis does not recognize a dichotomy between individual and collective memory as two different types of remembering. Conversely, the collective is thought of as inherent to individual thought, questioning perspectives that regard individual recollection as isolated from social settings. The individual places himself in relation to the group and makes use of the collective frameworks of thought when he localizes and reconstructs the past, whether in private or in social settings. The frameworks of social relations, of time, and of space are constructs originating in social interaction and distributed in the memory of the group members. The individual has his own perspective on the collective frameworks of the group, and the group’s collective frameworks can be regarded as a common denominator of the individual outlooks on the framework. In acts of remembering, the individual may actualize the depicted symbols in memory, but he could also employ precepts from the environment. The latter have been referred to as material or external frameworks of memory, suggesting their similar role as catalysts for processes of remembrance such as that of the hybrids in my paintings. It is only with reference to the hybrids, who work as messengers / mediators with a dual nature, that communicate between the past and the present, the internal and external space, that individual memory and group memory is in focus. The exhibition at the Egyptian museum in Leipzig is my practical method to create a communicative memory, using hybrids as mediators in cultural transimission, as when the act refers to informal and everyday situations in which group members informally search for the past, it takes place in the communicative 162 memory. As explained in chapter one, the exhibition at the Egyptian museum in Leipzig is an act of remembering in search for the past with support of my paintings, which then can considered as part of the cultural memory. In addition to the theoretical framework summarized above, I have applied my hypothesis practically in the form of the public exhibition, and shared the methodology with public audience from Cairo / Egypt and Leipzig / German in the form of visual art workshops and open discussions. I have also suggested an analyzed description of the meaning of hybrids in my artwork as mediators and messengers for the purpose of cultural transmission, as well as in relation to other artists’ work and use of a similar concept. By using my hybrid creatures in my visual artwork, I am creating a bridge, mediators to represent both the past and the present, what we remember of the past, and how we understand the past. It is as explained in chapter two; that the hybridization methodology in terms of double membership represented in different cultures –Cairo / Egypt and Leipzig / Germany- can provide a framework which allows artistic discussions and could be individually interpreted, so individual cultures / individual memory can become transparent without losing their identities and turn into communicative memory. This transmission through the hybridization theoretical approech was explicitly clarified with the support of Krämer’s hypothesis. The practical attempt was examined by creating a relationship between the witness –me as an artist– and the audience –the exhibition visitors–, to cross space and time, not to bridge differences, rather to represent the contrasts transparently. The Kin-making proposition is adopted by many academics and scholars in modern society and theoretical research; the topic was represented in the roots of the ancient Egyptian mindset and supported theoretically by similar understandings such as Haraway’s definition of kin-making. The practical implementation of kin- making can be observed in many of my artwork and was analyzed visually and artistically in chapter three. My practical project outcome tested success by using hybrids in my paintings as mediators, it opened a communicative artistic discussion. This methodology gave a possible path of communication through paintings / visual analyses, and offered relativity through image self-interpretation.

The theme of this project is the colonial history of the natural rubber industry. It focuses on two species of tropical plants: Ficus elastica and Hevea brasiliensis. Geographically their native habitat is very distant from each other, but they connect by European influence through the exploitation of latex. The many forms and outcomes from this work manifest the attempt of the artist to create an association between a common household plant, the origin of its name, and the source of rubber. As a ghostly connective tissue, the latex surrounds reconstructed history, old prints, live plants, and drawings, accepting the material's capacity to both erase and preserve the past.

The current thesis presents research about new methods of citizen participation based on digital technologies. The focus on the research lies on decentralized methods of participation where citizens take the role of co-creators. The research project first conducted a review of the literature on citizen participation, its origins and the different paradigms that have emerged over the years. The literature review also looked at the influence of technologies on participation processes and the theoretical frameworks that have emerged to understand the introduction of technologies in the context of urban development. The literature review generated the conceptual basis for the further development of the thesis. The research begins with a survey of technology enabled participation applications that examined the roles and structures emerging due to the introduction of technology. The results showed that cities use technology mostly to control and monitor urban infrastructure and are rather reluctant to give citizens the role of co-creators. Based on these findings, three case studies were developed. Digital tools for citizen participation were conceived and introduced for each case study. The adoption and reaction of the citizens were observed using three data collection methods. The results of the case studies showed consistently that previous participation and engagement with informal citizen participation are a determinining factor in the potential adoption of digital tools for decentralized engagement. Based on these results, the case studies proposed methods and frameworks that can be used for the conception and introduction of technologies for decentralized citizen participation.

Die Arbeit »B+cher. Zwischen Lesen und Schauen – Über die narrative Eigenschaft von Typografie« beschreibt ein Spannungsfeld in der Arbeit von Typografinnen und Typografen, das sich zwischen den beiden Gegensätzen verdeutlicht, »Diener des Textes« (Jan Tschichold) zu sein oder aber sein (künstlerischer) Souverän. Es sind Facetten beschreibbar, die sich nicht nur anhand der fertigen Buchobjekte ablesen lassen, sondern den Arbeitsprozess von Kooperationen zwischen Autor*in und Gestalter*in in den Fokus nimmt, welche der Rezeption eines Textes durch seine besondere Gestaltung einen Mehrwert (»+«) verschaffen wollen. »B+cher« bietet eine nicht nur für Gestalter*innen relevante Übersicht über Möglichkeiten und Chancen der Buchgestaltung, sondern liefert darüber hinaus der Literatur- und Kulturwissenschaft einen Beitrag zum Verständnis von künstlerischen Prozessen beim Schreiben und beim Gestalten von Büchern.