Ramses Files

The layers of history embedded in the city of Cairo are themes in the work ‘Ramses Files’ (2006), produced by Susanne Kriemann after a residency in Cairo in 2006. In the 4-channel-slide-installation Kriemann shows the transformations of the megalopolis through a collection of archival images mixed with recent images of the pharaonic statue of Ramses II and its surroundings from the 1950s till today. In the Nasser era the Ramses II statue symbolized the roots of the Egyptian nation and was set in front of Cairo’s central station where it stayed until, in 2006, it was moved due to preservation issues. In Kriemann’s work, the statue represents a sort of paradigm that remains immutable over the years, in contrast to the ever-changing city and its inhabitants. The images are from various newspaper and private archives.