Soil, Title, Fiber: Cartographies of Extractive Memory - Zelin Seah
Zelin Seah ( Malaysia )
A research-based project by Zelin Seah that takes the palm oil industry as an entry point to reflect on the layered narratives between the Global South and Global North. From the colonial transplantation of oil palm from West Africa to Malaya, to today’s debates on ecological loss, labor conditions, and carbon colonialism, palm oil continues to embody tensions of history and power. At the same time, the Global South contends with the contradictions of EU protectionist policies and the seductive language of “sustainability.” During the residency, Zelin will draw on SAVVY Contemporary’s archives and collect soil, fiber, and cartographic fragments from Berlin’s peripheries, weaving them into altered maps and fiber installations that act as counter-archives. Through dialogue and collaboration with artists and communities, Zelin hopes to create spaces for collective mapping and reflection, re-narrating land, memory, and resilience across shifting geographies.
This project is part of the REFLEKT residency program by Goethe-Institut Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines together with SAVVY Contemporary.