Video Letter:

Video Letter: A Dialogue on Liberty and Liberation Chalana Brown & Katrine Dirckinck‑Holmfeld, 2023

In this Video Letter, Chalana Brown (U.S. Virgin Islands) and Katrine Dirckinck‑Holmfeld (Denmark) embark on a dialogue that seeks to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the 1848 emancipation of the people enslaved in the Danish West Indies (today the U.S. Virgin Islands). The video letter emerges from a conversation following the "Anonymous Artists" happening. By submerging a replica bust into the very canal that once transported goods from the Danish West Indies to the Danish empire, the artists illuminate the obscured history of the Danish slave trade and the immense wealth amassed through reprehensible actions that deprived others of their liberty—while at the same time giving rise to liberal notions of “fine” art in Denmark. The video letter explores: How do we dismantle the colonization of our organizations and mindsets? Where are the conversations and actions dedicated to restoring liberties? Does liberty only serve to enhance the comfort of those who resemble oppressors, or can we embrace liberty as a humanitarian principle encompassing the well‑being of all? How can discomfort catalyze change in the pursuit of true liberty, as it challenges us to confront the barriers that impede its realization? What does freedom mean to you?

The project was originally developed for the symposium Disrupting Colonial Monu/mentality organised by Mai Takawira