Katharina Büttgen

As a person with a history of migration, the question of identity has always been central and complex. My Belarusian identity remained fragmented, shaped by surveillance, political repression and external attributions. During the protests in Minsk, I witnessed state violence and hoped for change, but the liberation failed. Today, Belarusian identity is increasingly criminalised, and my artistic work makes a return impossible. I translate drawings on identity, loss and memory into textile works. Textiles carry cultural meaning, especially Belarusian embroidery, which connects nature, memory and protest. By combining found and new fabrics, I link personal experience with collective history.