Prateek Vijan “and Others who wish to remain anonymous” at Kunstverein in Hamburg

For his first institutional solo exhibition, “and Others who wish to remain anonymous”, commissioned by Kunstverein in Hamburg, Prateek Vijan is developing an expansive installation that negotiates the material, judicial, bureaucratic, and ideological apparatus through which colonial loot is kept and circulated within museum collections. Through sculptures, installations, and films, Vijan explores how colonial legacies might be confronted and disrupted. To this end, he has developed the concept of counterloot, an analytical framework for identifying the sociopolitical constellations that determine the legitimacy of colonial ownership claims. Counterloot aims to restore agency to those affected by colonial history today, to reclaim what was stolen—without seeking permission from those in power. For its implementation, Vijan draws upon the narrative structure and aesthetics of cinema including the so-called heist films, a genre that is characterised by the meticulous planning of a theft.

The entrance to “and Others who wish to remain anonymous” has been moved to the rear of the Kunstverein’s building. With this intervention, Vijan brings attention to the unseen forms of labour that are essential to making a shared public sphere, e.g. within a museum or a restaurant, possible but are deliberately concealed and denied recognition. The relocation of the visitor’s entrance prompts an inquiry into the visible and invisible flows of labour within an institution, their relation to the public sphere, and the underlying dynamics of power.

Two connected spaces within and Others who wish to remain anonymous address the permeability and accessibility of different social spheres. The first, a steel-clad room, references the aesthetics of a cold storage facility. Within this space Vijan’s sculptures quote the hallways of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, laying out escape routes for a heist of colonial objects in the collection. The second space mimics an Indian restaurant with elements of an industrial kitchen, chairs, and tables. This restaurant within the exhibition functions as a metaphor for those spaces, that are the stages for the performative production of a shared public, excluding those who work behind the scenes. Vijan has engraved detailed scenes of the security infrastructure of the Victoria and Albert Museum onto wall- mounted steel refrigerator doors, suggesting further cold storage spaces. Additionally, three CCTV monitors display footage from the perspective of an animal restlessly moving towards the exits of a museum, conveying a feeling of entrapment and displacement. Leaving the exhibition, an installation of four screens hangs from the ceiling, each showing a bird of prey. They watch over the foyer, furthering the exploration of observing and being observed, predator and prey.

Curated by Dr Martin Karcher.

at Kunstverein in Hamburg
until April 27, 2025