In THE POWER OF THE KOLA – Negotiating the Living, Astrid S. Klein, in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Albert Gouaffo (University of Dschang, Cameroon), developed a translocal project between Stuttgart and Dschang. It is rooted in Klein’s polyphonic research since 2011 into extractivism, plantation economies, and the displacement of tropical plants in colonial contexts. Her longstanding collaboration with a diasporic tropical kola plant in a botanical collection in Germany forms the foundation of the project.

In 2024, cuttings from this plant will follow an invitation to Cameroon to reconnect with their endemic zone of origin. This journey of the diasporic kola plants from the tropical greenhouse of the University of Hohenheim to Dschang raises questions about restitution and the activation of knowledge, the equal value of different knowledge systems, the negotiation of respectful and symmetrical relationships between humans and all forms of existence, as well as ecological justice.

The accompanying audio piece To the Red Soil weaves together the voices of those involved in the long-term research, music, and storytelling in a composition that places the colonial, inherited, and contemporary significance of the kola and its journey within a resonant field of memory, resistance, and visions for the future.

Further links
https://www.ifa.de/blog/beitrag/the-power-of-the-kola-interview-astrid-klein-albert-gouaffo/
https://cashmereradio.com/episode/cashmere-specials-to-the-red-soil-an-audio-piece-by-astrid-s-klein/

The artist Astrid S. Klein has been working translocally with protagonists from the African continent, the African diasporas, the Caribbean, and Europe since 2005, jointly creating many-voiced, sustainable projects. Her research is focused on the decentering of one’s own thinking, on the fostering of new relationships through different knowledge, and on opportunities for collective action. Her investigations trace connections and paths which intend to depart from the colonial library (V.Y. Mudimbe) and to permit vibrant, non-essentialist neighborhoods of multiple worlds.

Klein is a master student of Joan Jonas. Her transdisciplinary practice encompasses poetic-critical analyses in different media and public event formats. She is the editor of crossing-boundaries-of-doubt.net and the initiator and artistic director of quartier flottant. For her research she has received numerous grants and fellowships. Her works of art have been shown at various venues, including Hamburger Bahnhof –Museum für Gegenwart (Berlin), Arsenal – Institut für Film und Videokunst (Berlin), Heidelberger Kunstverein (Heidelberg), Künstlerhaus Stuttgart, Württembergischer Kunstverein (Stuttgart), Wien Modern (Vienna), Le Plateau (Paris), Musée national de l’histoire de l’immigration (Paris), Apexart (New York), Anthology Film Archives (New York), Doual’art (Douala), Goethe-Institut Yaoundé (Cameroon), Accra (Ghana), Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), and CCA Lagos (Nigeria).